Rebel Creamery Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Weeks After Losing $23.8 Million Van Leeuwen Lawsuit
By Business Desk | Midway, Utah, August 16, 2026
Rebel Creamery, the Utah-based maker of low-carb ice cream sold in thousands of grocery stores nationwide, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The filing landed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah on Friday, Aug. 14, roughly a month after the company lost a bruising trade dress lawsuit to rival Van Leeuwen Ice Cream.
The timing isn't subtle. Rebel appealed the underlying judgment on Aug. 12. Two days later, it was in bankruptcy court asking to restructure. According to court records reviewed by Fox Business, the company reported roughly $13.78 million in assets against $23.85 million in liabilities — a gap that lines up almost exactly with the size of the judgment it now owes Van Leeuwen.
What Happened
Rebel Creamery LLC's voluntary Chapter 11 petition estimates both assets and liabilities in the $10 million to $50 million range, with the company telling the court it expects funds to eventually be available for distribution to unsecured creditors, according to Fox Business. Austin Archibald, Rebel's co-founder, is listed as the company's manager and member on the filing. Michael Johnson of the Utah firm Ray Quinney & Nebeker is serving as bankruptcy counsel.
Van Leeuwen shows up in the paperwork exactly where you'd expect: among Rebel's unsecured creditors, holding a $23.785 million claim tied directly to the federal court judgment. Rebel has flagged that claim as disputed, noting the underlying ruling remains under appeal.
Court filings do not establish that the Van Leeuwen judgment alone forced Rebel into bankruptcy. But the math is hard to ignore. A company with under $14 million in assets doesn't easily absorb a $23.8 million hit, disputed or not.
Background: How the Legal Fight Started
Van Leeuwen's Origin Story
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream began in 2008 as a single yellow truck in Brooklyn, started by brothers Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen along with Laura O'Neill. What began with roughly $60,000 in borrowed startup capital has grown into a national brand with dozens of scoop shops and pints stocked in thousands of grocery stores, built around a minimalist, pastel packaging aesthetic the company has cultivated since 2016.
Rebel's Rise in the Keto Category
Rebel Creamery launched later, founded by Austin and Courtney Archibald of Heber City, Utah, after the couple started experimenting with low-carb ice cream recipes at home. The company ran a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 and hit store shelves in 2018, positioning itself around ketogenic and "better-for-you" eating trends. Rebel's pints eventually landed in Walmart, Kroger, Target, Safeway, Publix and other major chains nationwide.
The two brands were never direct copies of each other in flavor or mission — one built around indulgent, ingredient-forward artisanal ice cream, the other around fitting dessert into a low-carb lifestyle. The dispute wasn't about recipes. It was about how the pints looked on a shelf.
Inside the Trade Dress Ruling
Van Leeuwen sued Rebel back in 2021, arguing Rebel had copied four specific design elements of its pint packaging: monochromatic cartons with matching lids, a primarily pastel color palette, oversized black cursive script, and an overall stripped-down, minimalist layout. The case, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream LLC v. Rebel Creamery LLC, played out over roughly five years before landing in front of U.S. District Judge Eric Komitee in the Eastern District of New York for a four-day bench trial.
Komitee didn't leave much room for interpretation. In a 65-page opinion issued July 16, the judge found Rebel had intentionally infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen's trade dress. "The evidence at that trial left no doubt that Rebel infringed and diluted Van Leeuwen's trade dress and did so intentionally," Komitee wrote in the ruling.
How the Judge Landed on $23.8 Million
Van Leeuwen had actually sought $36.4 million in disgorged profits. The court calculated Rebel's total profits tied to the affected pints at roughly $35.5 million, then trimmed that figure by 33% to account for sales the court attributed to genuine demand for Rebel's keto positioning rather than the packaging itself. That left a final award of $23.785 million.
A survey commissioned by Van Leeuwen during litigation reportedly found a 34.3% net-confusion rate among shoppers — meaning roughly a third of people surveyed associated Rebel's packaging with Van Leeuwen. Survey evidence like that carries real weight in trade dress cases, where proving lost sales directly is notoriously difficult.
Beyond the money, Komitee permanently barred Rebel from selling ice cream in the infringing packaging and ordered the company to redesign its pints entirely.
| Detail | Figure / Fact |
|---|---|
| Judgment amount | $23.785 million |
| Van Leeuwen's original ask | $36.4 million |
| Rebel's calculated profits from pints | ~$35.5 million |
| Reduction applied by court | 33% |
| Ruling date | July 16, 2026 |
| Rebel's Chapter 11 filing date | Aug. 14, 2026 |
Rebel's Defense — and Why It Didn't Work
Rebel didn't concede the point during litigation. The company argued it was unaware of Van Leeuwen's packaging when it launched in 2017, noting Van Leeuwen didn't roll out its now-signature look until 2016 — barely a year before Rebel came to market. Rebel also argued the individual design elements Van Leeuwen pointed to, like pastel colors and minimalist script, are common across the food industry and shouldn't be protectable on their own.
The court rejected both arguments. Komitee's opinion found the design documentation told a different story than Rebel's claim of independent creation, and ruled that trade dress protection covers the overall combination and commercial impression of a product's look, not just individual, isolated elements. Legal analysts who reviewed the case afterward described the documentation trail as central to the outcome — internal design files reportedly undercut Rebel's story about how its packaging came together.
Reaction and Industry Ripple Effects
Susman Godfrey, the firm that represented Van Leeuwen throughout the litigation, called the outcome a "decisive victory" for its client following the five-year fight. Partner Elisha Barron led the case from the original 2021 filing through trial and judgment.
Trade dress attorneys outside the case have pointed to the ruling as a warning shot for consumer packaged goods brands generally. Legal commentary published after the verdict noted that a court can award profits from copied packaging even when a rights holder can't prove it lost specific sales — and that the exposure grows sharply once a judge finds the copying was intentional rather than accidental.
For Rebel specifically, the reaction has been quieter. The company hasn't issued a detailed public statement addressing the bankruptcy filing beyond what's contained in the court paperwork itself, and it continues to dispute the size of Van Leeuwen's claim as the underlying case sits on appeal.
What's Next
Rebel's appeal of the Van Leeuwen judgment is still pending, and the company has explicitly listed that claim as disputed in its bankruptcy filing — a signal it intends to keep fighting the number even while restructuring. Chapter 11 doesn't erase the underlying legal dispute; it gives Rebel breathing room and court supervision while it works out how to pay creditors, potentially at reduced amounts, if the appeal doesn't go its way.
Rebel's pints remain on shelves at Walmart, Kroger, Target and other retailers for now — a Chapter 11 filing reorganizes debt rather than shutting down operations outright, unlike a Chapter 7 liquidation. Whether that continues long-term likely hinges on two things still working through the courts: the outcome of Rebel's appeal, and how a bankruptcy judge ultimately treats Van Leeuwen's disputed claim inside the restructuring.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Rebel Creamery file for bankruptcy?
Rebel filed for Chapter 11 protection about a month after a federal judge ordered it to pay Van Leeuwen Ice Cream $23.785 million for intentionally copying Van Leeuwen's pint packaging. While court filings don't confirm the judgment as the sole cause, the size of the award relative to Rebel's reported assets suggests it was a major factor.
What is trade dress infringement?
Trade dress refers to the overall visual look of a product — its packaging, color scheme, layout and design — when that look has become distinctive enough to identify the brand to consumers. Infringement occurs when a competitor copies that visual identity closely enough to confuse shoppers, even without copying a logo or name.
How much does Rebel Creamery owe Van Leeuwen?
A federal court ordered Rebel to pay $23.785 million in disgorged profits, reduced from Van Leeuwen's original request of $36.4 million after the judge determined a portion of Rebel's sales were driven by its keto positioning rather than the copied packaging.
Is Rebel ice cream still sold in stores?
Yes. As of this filing, Rebel's products remain available at retailers including Walmart, Kroger, Target, Publix and H-E-B. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a company to keep operating while it reorganizes its debts, unlike a Chapter 7 liquidation.
What happens to the Van Leeuwen judgment now that Rebel is in Chapter 11?
Van Leeuwen's $23.785 million claim is now part of Rebel's bankruptcy case as a disputed unsecured claim. How it gets resolved will depend on both the outcome of Rebel's pending appeal and how the bankruptcy court ultimately treats the claim during restructuring.
Who founded Rebel Creamery and Van Leeuwen?
Rebel Creamery was founded by Austin and Courtney Archibald of Utah, who launched the brand through a 2017 Kickstarter campaign built around ketogenic and low-carb eating. Van Leeuwen was founded in 2008 in Brooklyn by brothers Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen along with Laura O'Neill, starting from a single ice cream truck.
Rebel's appeal remains before the courts, and no hearing date has yet been set in the Utah bankruptcy proceeding — the next real signal of where this goes will come from whichever court moves first.
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