WHATELY — The founder of Tea Guys has failed to appear for court dates on a claim the Whately company owes over $1.8 million to a business partner.
This month, a judge in Franklin Superior Court announced that the courts are looking for Oliver Rich, Tea Guys’ founder and CEO.
Zest Tea, a Baltimore tea company, claims Tea Guys breached a signed agreement it made with Zest Tea to help handle delivery of its products, including “tea bags, loose teas, canned beverages and hydration powders,” according to a civil complaint Zest Tea filed in July.
Shortly after the complaint was filed, Franklin Superior Court Judge David Hodge froze Tea Guys accounts at Greenfield Savings Bank and Evolve Bank & Trust up to $5.67 million. It is not clear from the documents why a larger amount than what the complaint alleges Tea Guys owes Zest Tea was frozen.
If Tea Guys is found to have violated business practices, the amount the company owes Zest Tea could triple, according to state law.
James Fayal, the founder of Zest Tea, alleged that Tea Guys “engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices” and unjust enrichment in his complaint. He requested a jury trial.
Tea Guys, founded in 2009, is known for hand-blended gourmet teas, tea bags, and matcha, according to the company’s Instagram profile.
According to court documents, Rich hasn’t shown up for legal hearings and has failed to respond to Zest Tea or to court officials.
At the time of their agreement, Fayal said Tea Guys “appeared to have ample capacity and know-how to operate the retail channel” in order to help Zest Tea, which was dealing with industry supply chain issues, the complaint said.
Fayal visited Tea Guys’ headquarters in Whately before making a decision to work with them, according to the complaint.
Fayal alleges he and Rich began corresponding over email about inventory and shipments that were supposed to be made from Feb. 25 to July 25.
Fayal said he and his team started to hear less frequently from Rich about the status of the shipments or the payments Tea Guys were supposed to send Zest Tea, despite Fayal’s attempts to contact Rich.
Then Fayal said he stopped hearing from Rich altogether.
In March, one month after shipments were supposed to start, Zest Tea sought a cease-and-desist order against Tea Guys, saying Rich failed to “operate in good faith” despite Fayal’s attempts to maintain a “professional and transparent relationship,” court records show.
The lawsuit alleges Rich kept roughly $179,000 worth of inventory in his possession, which contributes to the $1.8 million he owed to Zest Tea in damages at the time of filing the complaint.
In the complaint, Fayal said that the agreement he and Rich signed mentioned that if Rich wanted to terminate their deal, he would have to give Zest Tea six months notice to give it time to find a replacement.
Then, as a result of shipment delays and the lack of a notice to Zest Tea about a termination of the contract, Zest Tea lost three major accounts: HEB, WINCO, and Kroger. The company expected to lose other accounts soon, court records said.
In September, Franklin Superior Court tried to contact Tea Guys multiple times, after Rich failed to appear in court two months before.
Rich’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Online, Tea Guys’ website said the “business is closed for shipping and pickup.” Tea Guys’ last Instagram post was in December of last year, when its posted a Christmas-themed tea pun.
The company’s LinkedIn profile lists Rich as its founder and CEO, but no other verifiable employees were listed.
Rich’s personal LinkedIn profile suggests Tea Guys is still in business. He is still listed as the CEO of the company.
