B.C. court bars influencer Bilzerian from selling vapes in non-competition order

Dan Bilzerian at the 2016 Maxim Halloween Party at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on October 22, 2016. (Shutterstock)

The British Columbia Supreme Court has granted an order prohibiting social media influencer Dan Bilzerian from selling or promoting nicotine vape products, as part of an injunction sought by the company he once led.

Bilzerian, the so-called “King of Instagram” whose playboy lifestyle has earned him tens of millions of followers online, has been battling in court to regain control of Ignite International Brands after he was ousted as the company’s CEO and sole director last year.

Ignite’s majority shareholders accused Bilzerian of causing “significant harm” to the company by allegedly making antisemitic statements on his social media accounts, thereby undermining the brand’s relationships with customers, suppliers and employees.

In turn, Bilzerian sued the company he helped found, alleging he was removed as director unlawfully through an improper shareholder vote.

“After his removal as director, Dan Bilzerian has continued to cause disruption to Ignite’s business through his continued antisemitic social media posts, his refusal to provide Ignite with access to its own social media accounts and his communications to employees,” the company said in one of dozens of submissions to the court.

Bilzerian ‘inextricably linked’ to Ignite

As the legal proceedings began last year, Bilzerian incorporated a new company, SAVH LLC, which B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alison Latimer found directly competes with Ignite’s vape products and marketing.

“Between 2019 and 2024, Mr. Bilzerian was Ignite’s chairman, CEO, and director,” the judge wrote in her March 27 decision. “During this time, his likeness and social media personality were inextricably linked with Ignite products, principally vapes.”

The link was formalized in a licensing agreement that made Bilzerian the “public face” of the company, the judge wrote. “Ignite invested tens of millions of dollars in the promotion of its products using this linkage.”

As such, Bilzerian breached his fiduciary duty to Ignite, which is headquartered Markham, Ont., by manufacturing and marketing vape products under his SAVH LLC brand.

Earlier this year, Bilzerian was found in contempt of court for failing to hand over the passwords for Ignite’s social media accounts while the larger matter of the company’s leadership is still being decided.

Read more: Social media influencer Dan Bilzerian found in contempt of court in B.C.

“Mr. Bilzerian still does not accept that he is no longer the sole director of Ignite,” Justice Michael Tammen wrote in his Feb. 11 decision. “To date, Mr. Bilzerian has not succeeded in persuading a court that he should be reinstated.”

As of last week, Bilzerian had still not complied with the order to relinquish the passwords and remains in contempt of court, Latimer found.

Worldwide prohibition

Under the terms of the injunction, Bilzerian is prohibited from competing with Ignite until a final decision is reached regarding who legally leads the company.

As part of the court order, Bilzerian is barred from allowing SAVH LLC to make or market vape products, and is restricted from lending his name or likeness to the marketing of any vape products, other than those sold by Ignite, anywhere in the world.

“Most of Mr. Bilzerian’s conduct has occurred outside of British Columbia,” Latimer wrote.

“Insofar as that conduct is marketing and promotion, much of that conduct occurs online and globally. To be effective within British Columbia, and to prevent irreparable harm to Ignite, Mr. Bilzerian must be enjoined from competing anywhere in the world.”

The judge instructed Ignite and Bilzerian to “take steps to set the earliest available trial date” to resolve the issue of the company’s control.

As the dispute over Ignite’s ownership continues, the company is also facing a securities commission investigation in the U.S. related to allegations of conspiracy and fraud. In September, a federal court in California accused Paul Bilzerian, the influencer’s father, of funnelling millions of dollars into Ignite and secretly running the company himself.

“On paper, Ignite’s CEO was Bilzerian’s son, D.B. – a professional poker player who gained notoriety on social media for his glamorous and ostentatious lifestyle,” the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said in a statement announcing the indictment. “In fact, (the elder) Bilzerian exercised de facto control of the company.”

The statement describes the senior Bilzerian, 74, as a “corporate takeover specialist and convicted felon” who owes the U.S. government more than US$180 million for allegedly dodging a decades-old decision against him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The charges have not been proven or tested in court.