Tag Archives: Unjust Enrichment

Noble Roman’s sues Ex-Franchisees for Trademark Infringement, Conversion, Theft

08 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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The Defendants in this lawsuit are allegedly ex-franchisees of Noble’s Romans, selling gas station pizza from numerous “Luke” gas stations across Northern Indiana.

The Defendants are alleged to have continued utilizing Noble Roman’s intellectual property to advertise and sell Noble Roman’s-branded products and services after termination of their franchise agreement. Further, the Complaint alleges that the Defendants sold unauthorized “Noble Roman’s” products from at least one non-franchised location (see Complaint below, Section 22), but that location is not specifically identified.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Noble Roman’s counsel in Marion County Superior Court in October 2020 but has now been removed to the Southern District of Indiana.

There are often widely-conflicting viewpoints when such franchise arrangements go south, so stay tuned for the Defendant’s Answer and their side of this story.

Noble Roman’s Inc. v. Gateway Triangle Corp. et al.

Court Case Number: 1:21-cv-00407-JPH-TAB
File Date: February 5, 2021 (via Notice of Removal)
Plaintiff: Noble Romans, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: P. Adam Davis, Esquire of Davis & Sarbinoff, LLC
Defendant: Gateway Triangle Corp., 7405 Indy Corp., 850 Indy Corp., Northlake Marketing LLC, Thomas M. Collins II
Cause: Conversion under Indiana Code § 35-43-4-3, Theft under Indiana Code §35-43-4-2, Breach of Franchise Agreement, Trademark Infringement, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

Dean Potter’s estate sues LG Electronics for unauthorized use of Moonwalk footage

02 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by in Intellectual Property, Litigation, Right of Publicity, Southern District of Indiana

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An interesting right of publicity case involving the estate of the late extreme-sports athlete Dean Potter has been filed in the Southern District of Indiana. Mr. Potter’s estate is suing LG Electronics for unauthorized use of Mr. Potter’s likeness and appearance. In a commercial titled Listen. Think. Answer., LG uses footage from the movie Moonwalk, in which Mr. Potter traverses a highline tied to Cathedral Peak in Yosemite National Park as the full moon rises in the background, to advertise the LG OLED TV with AI.

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LG claims to have obtained a license to use the Moonwalk footage from Moonwalk’s director, Mikey Schaefer. However, the Complaint (below) asserts that Mr. Potter had signed a release for still photographs only, not video footage. Potter’s estate also maintains that Mr. Schaefer was not able to authorize licenses or sublicenses, meaning Schaefer could exploit the Moonwalk footage himself but not authorize third-party exploitation such as the LG commercial.

“Because Mr. Potter never consented to Mr. Schaefer’s trading in the invaluable equity of Mr. Potter’s likeness in Moonwalk, and/or his reputation as a highlining pioneer, to shill television sets, Mr. Schaefer could not license to Defendants Mr. Potter’s rights, including, inter alia, Potter’s publicity and common law trademark rights.”

This should be an interesting case to follow. Stay tuned for updates. RIP Dean Potter.

“Defendant’s advertisement of a product that enables a sedentary lifestyle, wherein material demands can be met without moving from the couch in the confines of one’s living room, is antithetical to what Mr. Potter stood for in life: an appreciation of the splendor of the outdoors and a celebration of the freedom to forge one’s own path in uncharted terrain.”

Dean Potter LLC v. LG Electronics USA, Inc.

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-04085-JPH-TAB
File Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Plaintiff: Dean Potter LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: John Tehranian, Jenny S. Kim of ONE LLP
Defendant: LG Electronics USA, Inc.
Cause: Infringement of Right of Publicity, False Association, False Endorsement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment, Conversion, Deception, Violation of Indiana Crime Victims’ Act
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Tim A. Baker

Complaint:

Fan Company sues Unauthorized Online Dealer for Trademark Infringement

04 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by in Branding, Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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The Plaintiff, a fan company based in Zionsville, Indiana, sells its electric fans to consumers via its website, showrooms or through authorized dealers.

The Defendant is alleged to be offering unauthorized sales of Plaintiff’s fans at the website http://www.lightingmerchant.com. Importantly for consumers, electric fans sold by Defendant are not covered by Plaintiff’s warranty.

The Complaint (below) alleges that the Defendant purchases the products from one or more authorized dealers and then sells the products to retail customers. The identity of the authorized dealers is not revealed in the Complaint.

Fanimation, Inc. v. Decor Selections, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-03648-JPH-MJD
File Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Plaintiff: Fanimation, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Harold C. Moore, Michael A. Swift of Maginot, Moore & Beck, LLP
Defendant: Decor Selections, LLC d/b/a Lighting Merchant
Cause: Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief, Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Dilution, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James Patrick Hanlon
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Complaint:

Breach of contract leads to lawsuit over psychotherapy techniques, trademarks

30 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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The Plaintiff in this lawsuit, Functional Family Therapy Associates, Inc. is a Seattle, Washington-based organization dedicated to training psychotherapists. Plaintiff utilizes a “Functional Family Therapy” protocol to help troubled youth and their families overcome a variety of behavioral problems. Plaintiff provides services in 33 U.S. states and 10 foreign countries.

The Defendants allegedly operate an entity in Bloomington, Indiana called Functional Family Therapy Associates, in violation of Plaintiff’s registered trademarks. One of the Defendants, Sexton, was previously a member of Plaintiff’s organization. More detailed facts are set forth in the (redacted) complaint below.

This lawsuit arises from a breach of contract and the Defendants’ false advertising, unfair competition, and service mark infringement resulting from Defendants’ unauthorized use of Plaintiff’s registered and common law intellectual property rights in Plaintiff’s unique and original family therapeutic services protocol and Plaintiff’s development, testing, training, and marketing thereof.

An unredacted Complaint was filed under seal pursuant to a confidentiality obligation in an agreement between the parties.

F.F.T., LLC v. Sexton, Ph.D et al

Court Case Number: 1:19-cv-03027-RLY-MJD
File Date: Friday, July 19, 2019
Plaintiff: F.F.T., LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Holiday W. Banta, T. Earl LeVere, Megan Hedrick of Ice Miller LLP
Defendant: Thomas Sexton, Ph.D., Functional Family Therapy Associates, Inc., Astrid Van Dam
Cause: Breach of Contract, Wrongful Interference with Business Relationships and Prospective Business Advantages, Wrongful Interference with a Contractual Relationship, Unfair Competition, False Advertising, Federal Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Richard L. Young
Referred To: Mark J. Dinsmore

Redacted Complaint:

Sunman BP sued for selling counterfeit Oakley sunglasses

18 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Indiana, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Southern District of Indiana, Trademark

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The defendants in this counterfeiting lawsuit are the owners and operators of a BP gas station located in Sunman, Indiana, who are accused of selling counterfeit Oakley sunglasses. The counterfeit products were observed for sale in the store by Plaintiff’s representatives.

The plaintiff, Oakley, Inc., seeks damages and injunctive relief.

Oakley, Inc. v. Sunman BP et al.

Court Case Number: 4:18-cv-00085-TWP-DML
File Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Plaintiff: Oakley, Inc.
Plaintiff Counsel: Jason D. Groppe, Esq., Logan S. Bednarczuk, Esq.
Defendants: Swami Property Sunman Inc. dba Sunman BP, Chirag Patel, Does 1-10
Cause: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, False Advertising, Federal Trademark Dilution, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: Tanya Walton Pratt
Referred To: Debra McVicker Lynch

Complaint: