An Ohio federal court has granted Spangler Candy Co. a preliminary injunction in its lawsuit alleging that Tootsie Roll Industries copied the packaging of its Dum Dums candy. Spangler Candy Co. v. Tootsie Roll Indus., No. 18-1146 (N.D. Ohio, entered March 13, 2019). The court found the Dum Dums red bag not inherently distinctive, instead relying on evidence that Tootsie had intent to copy because it "specifically recognized the similarity between the violators’ color scheme, had multiple other options, and chose to proceed with the similar design anyway." The court also found that "the amount-of-sales and established-place-in-the-market weigh strongly in Spangler's favor."
Category Archives 6th Circuit
A federal court in Missouri has denied class certification in a slack-fill action against Just Born Inc., ruling that the plaintiff was unable to represent one proposed class and that individual issues would predominate for the other two. White v. Just Born, Inc., 14-4025 (W.D. Mo., entered August 7, 2018). Alleging that boxes of Mike and Ikes and Hot Tamales were underfilled, the plaintiff sought certification of three classes: a Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA) class, an unjust enrichment (Restatement) class and an unjust enrichment (Appreciation) class. First, the court found that the Restatement class did not include Missouri residents, so the Missouri plaintiff could not serve as a representative of the potential class members. “In an attempt to account for variations in states’ unjust enrichment laws, [the plaintiff] seeks certification of two separate unjust enrichment classes,” the court held. “In doing so, however, [the plaintiff] defined himself out of one.”…
Multiple consumers have reportedly filed lawsuits against Chipotle Mexican Grill following the distribution of allegedly contaminated food that purportedly resulted in more than 700 customers becoming ill. The cause of the illnesses is unknown, as E. coli, Salmonella, norovirus and shigella tests reportedly returned negative results. One plaintiff seeks $25,000 in damages for his medical treatment.
A woman has filed a lawsuit alleging that she contracted Salmonella Mbandaka after consuming Kellogg Co.'s Honey Smacks cereal. Lemieux v. Kellogg Co., No. 18-0682 (W.D. Mich., filed June 20, 2018). The infection is apparently part of an outbreak of Salmonella that began in March 2018 that has infected 73 people in 31 states. The plaintiff alleges that after eating Honey Smacks every morning for two weeks, she "lost her appetite entirely," experienced "agonizing abdominal craps" and had a fever of 104 degrees. For allegations of strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty, the plaintiff seeks damages of more than $25,000 and attorney's fees.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed summary judgment in favor of Peristyle LLC, finding that its use of the term "Old Taylor" falls under the Lanham Act's fair use defense. Sazerac Brands, LLC, v. Peristyle, LLC, No. 17-5933/5997 (6th Cir., entered June 14, 2018). The "Old Taylor" mark references Colonel Edmund H. Taylor, Jr., who built the Old Taylor distillery in 1887, and although production at the facility ceased in 1972, Sazerac Brands owns the trademark rights to "Old Taylor" and "Colonel E.H. Taylor." Peristyle was formed to renovate the medieval castle-style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Old Taylor Distillery." Although Peristyle has not resumed bourbon production at the facility, it has used the name "Old Taylor Distillery" in its marketing materials. Noting that a defendant seeking shelter under the fair use defense must show use of the mark…
Spangler Candy Co. has filed a lawsuit alleging that the packaging for Tootsie Roll Industries LLC's Charms Mini Pops infringes its Dum Dums trade dress. Spangler Candy Co. v. Tootsie Roll Indus., LLC, No. 18-1146 (N.D. Ohio, filed May 18, 2018). Spangler asserts that for decades it has sold its lollipops in red bags with the brand name in white letters above a display window, a red border at the bottom and a yellow circle or oval with blue numerals in the center. The complaint alleges that Tootsie Roll has changed its Charms Mini Pops packaging from a yellow bag to a bag that resembles the Dum Dums bag. Further, pallet displays of the products at some retailers show bags inside similar yellow boxes, the complaint asserts, making the “overall visual impression” of the two products “deceptively and confusingly similar.” Claiming trade dress infringement and unfair competition, Spangler seeks damages, injunctive relief,…
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has transferred five class actions related to a data breach at Sonic restaurants to the Northern District of Ohio, where the assigned court is presiding over a potential tag-along case. In re Sonic Corp. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., MDL No. 2807 (entered December 6, 2017). Sonic confirmed on September 27, 2017, that point-of-sale systems had been breached at its drive-in restaurants.
A father has filed a lawsuit alleging that eating Dole Food Co.'s ready-to-eat salad greens caused his son to develop Listeria meningitis, leaving the son with long-term impairment of motor, cognitive and communication skills. Robinson v. Dole Food Co., No. 17-13644 (E.D. Mich., filed November 8, 2017). The complaint alleges that the son was served packaged salads at his group-care facility and developed meningitis, which the Centers for Disease Control and the Michigan Department of Community Health apparently concluded was caused by the same strain of Listeria that infected 30 people in a 2015-2016 outbreak linked to Dole salad greens. The complaint further alleges that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted an inspection of Dole’s Springfield, Illinois, facility where the bagged salads were produced and concluded that the facility violated a number of food-safety rules, including failing to test for Listeria on food contact surfaces and failing to notify FDA…
A Tennessee federal court has ruled that a personal-injury lawsuit against Whole Foods Market can proceed because the plaintiffs did not plead that they were “practicing vegans” and therefore could not be expected to know that a vegan pizza product might contain nuts. Jones v. WFM-WO, No. 17-0749 (M.D. Tenn., order entered July 17, 2017). The plaintiff alleged that she bought two slices of “Vegan Garden Pizza” from a Whole Foods bakery, relying on the label indicating that the pizza “did not contain certain nuts and/or ingredients derived from nut products.” After her daughter ate the pizza and suffered an allergic reaction requiring hospitalization, the plaintiff called the store and talked to the department manager, who reportedly told her the pizza was “mislabeled” and that an employee had prepared it using a taco sauce containing crushed pecans. Whole Foods argued that the pizza was exempt from the warning-label requirements of…
A Las Vegas restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill has filed suit against a Tennessee restaurant calling itself the Heart Attack Shack, claiming trademark infringement. HAG IP, LLC v. Tipps Enterprises Inc., No. 17-0652, (M.D. Ky., filed March 29, 2017). The Las Vegas restaurant, which claims trademarks on its Single, Double, Triple and Quadruple Bypass burgers and Flatliner Fries, alleges that the Tennessee restaurant, which features burgers, wings and “Flatliner XL” fries, has infringed its trademarks. In a February 2017 article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the defendant owner claimed he named his restaurant after a “heart attack” burger on the menu of a restaurant that previously occupied his location. For trademark infringement of registered marks, the plaintiff seeks injunctive relief, accounting, damages, attorney’s fees and destruction of all promotional materials bearing the trademarks. In 2012, after the plaintiff sent a cease and desist letter to New York’s Second…
