Contract analysis

I. Introduction and Purpose of This Letter This firm represents Meridian Consumer Brands LLC ("Meridian" or "MCB"), a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business at 410 West 34th Street, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10001, in connection with claims arising from the false and misleading advertising campaign disseminated by your client, Apex Naturals Inc. ("Apex"), a Delaware corporation h

II. Background and Nature of the Dispute To provide context for the scope of the preservation obligations described herein, we summarize the factual background and nature of the claims Meridian intends to pursue. A. The PuraClear Truth Campaign. On or about June 2, 2025, Apex launched a nationwide comparative advertising campaign branded "The PuraClear Truth" (referred to internally at Apex as "Project Clarity"), whi

III. Preservation Obligations Under Law We direct your client's attention to its well-established legal obligation to preserve all documents, ESI, and tangible things relevant to the claims and defenses in this matter. The duty to preserve arises under federal common law and is codified and reinforced by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including in particular Rule 37(e), which governs the failure to preserve ES

IV. Specific Categories of Documents and ESI to Be Preserved Meridian demands the immediate preservation of the following categories of documents and ESI, in their entirety, including all drafts, versions, revisions, attachments, enclosures, and associated metadata. The term "documents" as used herein includes all tangible and electronic records in any format, including but not limited to paper documents, electronic

I. Communications with Retailers, Distributors, and Trade Partners All communications with retailers, distributors, wholesalers, trade partners, and any other entities in the distribution chain concerning the PuraClear Truth campaign, PuraClear products, DermaTrūe products, or the competitive positioning of either brand, including but not limited to all communications with Kingsley Drug Stores LLC and any other major

V. Identification of Key Custodians Meridian demands that the litigation hold be immediately communicated to, and that preservation be fully implemented for, at minimum, each of the following custodians:

1. Marcus Devlin — Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Apex Naturals Inc.

2. Rachel Emory — Chief Marketing Officer, Apex Naturals Inc.

3. Dr. Simon Guerrero — Vice President, Product Development, Apex Naturals Inc.

4. Tanya Fischetti — General Counsel, Apex Naturals Inc.

5. Any other Apex employee, officer, contractor, or agent who was involved in the conception, planning, approval, execution, monitoring, or evaluation of the PuraClear Truth campaign, including but not limited to personnel in Apex's marketing, product development, legal, finance, sales, and regulatory departments.

6. Any Apex information technology personnel responsible for managing, maintaining, or administering document-retention, backup, auto-deletion, or data-archival policies and systems. This list is not intended to be exhaustive. Apex is obligated to identify all individuals who may possess relevant information and ensure that their documents and ESI are preserved. We reserve the right to identify additional custodians

VI. Suspension of Routine Destruction Meridian demands that Apex immediately and completely suspend all routine document destruction, auto-deletion, data purging, and recycling protocols — whether automated or manual — to the extent that such protocols would affect any of the categories of documents and ESI described in Section IV above. This includes, without limitation, the immediate suspension of: (a) email auto-a

VII. Third-Party Preservation Meridian further demands that Apex take all steps necessary and appropriate to preserve documents and ESI in the possession, custody, or control of third parties acting on Apex's behalf or at Apex's direction, including specifically: (a) Brightline Creative Partners LLC, located at 55 Washington Street, Suite 900, Brooklyn, New York 11201, which served as the advertising agency responsib

VIII. Spoliation Warning We wish to make unmistakably clear the consequences that will follow if Apex fails to comply with its preservation obligations. If Apex fails to preserve the documents and ESI identified in this letter, or if relevant evidence is destroyed, lost, altered, or rendered inaccessible after Apex's preservation obligation arose, Meridian will aggressively pursue all available sanctions and remedies

IX. Request for Confirmation We request that Caldwell, Briggs & Nolan LLP confirm in writing, no later than September 17, 2025 (i.e., within seven calendar days of the date of this letter), that: (1) Apex has implemented a comprehensive litigation hold covering all categories of documents and ESI described in this letter; (2) detailed, written hold notices have been circulated to all relevant custodians, including at

X. Reservation of Rights This letter is issued without prejudice to any and all of Meridian's rights, claims, demands, and remedies, whether at law or in equity, all of which are expressly and fully reserved. Nothing in this letter shall be construed as a waiver, release, or limitation of any right or remedy available to Meridian under the Lanham Act, New York General Business Law, common law, or any other applicable