721 Bourbon, Inc. v. House of Auth, LLC

140 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141760, 2015 WL 6134069
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedOctober 19, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 15-172
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 140 F. Supp. 3d 586 (721 Bourbon, Inc. v. House of Auth, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
721 Bourbon, Inc. v. House of Auth, LLC, 140 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141760, 2015 WL 6134069 (E.D. La. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

SARAH S. VANCE, District Judge.

Defendant House of Auth, LLC (“HOA”) moves the Court to dismiss plaintiff 721 Bourbon, Inc.’s trademark infringement, trademark dilution, unfair competition, and unfair trade practices claims against it for lack of personal jurisdiction. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the motion.

I. BACKGROUND

This is a trademark and unfair competition case. Plaintiff 721 Bourbon is a Louisiana company that owns and operates several “Tropical Isle” bars in New Orleans.1 Tropical Isle serves specialty cocktails called GRENADES or HAND GRENADES, as well a GRENADE ENERGY DRINK beverage, and it holds eight federal trademark registrations protecting its family of Grenade-related marks.2

HOA is a Delaware Limited Liability Company with its principal place of business in Stamford, Connecticut.3 It produces and sells a beverage whose label contains the word GURRNAID, along with a stylized “G” that resembles a hand grenade.4 HOA has a website that offers products for sale and allows users to order products online.5 HOA acknowledges that it has sold one set of its GURNNAID products — beverages, as well as apparel bearing the same GURRNAID mark — to a Louisiana resident through its website and that it communicated with the resident via email and telephone about the order.6 But, as 721 Bourbon admits, that resident was a private investigator hired by 721 Bourbon itself.7

721 Bourbon filed suit against HOA in this Court on January 23, 2015. Its complaint pleads several claims in connection with HOA’s use of its GURRNAID mark, including federal trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition under the Lanham Act, as well as trademark infringement and dilution under Louisiana law.8 721 Bourbon seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against HOA’s alleged infringement of its Grenade trademarks, as well as damages, interest, costs, and attorney fees.9

On May 1, 2015, HOA filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.10 Along with the motion, HOA filed a sworn declaration by Renate Cordts-Auth, HOA’s managing director, who states that HOA has no offices or employees in Louisiana, that it does not own or rent any property within the state, and that its only sale to a Louisiana resident was to 721 Bourbon’s private investigator.11 721 [591]*591Bourbon does not dispute these basic assertions. Instead, it argues that HOA has sufficient contacts with Louisiana to authorize personal jurisdiction based on (1) its sale of allegedly infringing products, through its website, to 721 Bourbon’s Louisiana-based investigator and (2) HOA’s aiming of intentionally tortious conduct towards Louisiana.12

After HOA filed its motion to dismiss, the parties agreed to a period of jurisdictional discovery. Initially, HOA’s motion was scheduled for submission on June 17,' 2015, but HOA agreed to reset the submission date to August 5, 2015, .giving 721 Bourbon an additional seven weeks to develop facts to support its case for personal jurisdiction.13 721 Bourbon served a request for production on HOA on June 3, 2015.14 The very next day, HOA’s counsel emailed 721 Bourbon stating that HOA objected to the scope of several of 721 Bourbon’s discovery requests.15 On July 6, 2015, HOA served its discovery responses, which included many of the same objections that counsel for HOA had previously described.16 Although 721 Bourbon now takes issue with some of HOA’s objections,17 it has not filed a motion to .compel production of discovery in this case..

11. STANDARD

Personal jurisdiction “is an essential element of the jurisdiction of a district court, without which it is powerless to proceed to an adjudication.” Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 583, 119 S.Ct. 1563, 143 L.Ed.2d 760 (1999). When a nonresident defendant moves the court to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(2), the plaintiff bears the burden to show that personal jurisdiction exists. Revell v. Lidov, 317 F.3d 467, 469 (5th Cir.2002). When a court rules on a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction without holding an evidentiary hearing, as in this case, the nonmoving party need only make a prima facie showing; “[p]roof by a preponderance of the evidence is not required.” Johnston v. Multidata Sys. Int’l Corp., 523 F.3d 602, 609 (5th Cir.2008). The allegations of the complaint, except as controverted by opposing affidavits, must be taken as true,, and all conflicts in the facts must be resolved in favor of plaintiffs. Thompson v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 755 F.2d 1162, 1165 (5th Cir.1985). In making its determination, the Court may consider “affidavits, interrogatories, depositions, oral testimony, or any combination of the recognized methods of discovery.” Revell, 317 F.3d at 469 (quoting Stuart v. Spademan, 772 F.2d 1185, 1192 (5th Cir.1985)).

A court has personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant if (1) the forum state’s long-arm statute confers personal jurisdiction over that defendant, and [592]*592(2) the forum state’s exercise of jurisdiction complies with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Latshaw v. Johnston, 167 F.3d 208, 211 (5th Cir.1999). Because Louisiana’s long-arm statute, La. R.S. ■§ 13:3201 et seq., extends jurisdiction to the full limits of due-process, the Court’s focus is solely on whether the exercise of its jurisdiction in this case satisfies federal due process requirements. Dickson Marine Inc. v. Panalpina, Inc., 179 F.3d 331, 336 (5th Cir.1999) (citing La. R.S. § 13:3201(B)). The exercise’of personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant satisfies due process when (1) the defendant has purposefully availed itself of the benefits and protections of the forum state by establishing “minimum contacts” with that sthte, and (2) exercising personal jurisdiction over the defendant does not offend “traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.” Revell, 317 F.3d at 470 (quoting Mink v. AAAA Dev. LLC, 190 F.3d 333, 336 (5th Cir.1999)).

There are two ways to establish minimum contacts: specific jurisdiction and general .jurisdiction. Wilson v. Belin, 20 F.3d 644, 647 (5th Cir.1994). General jurisdiction will attach, even if the act or transaction sued upon is unrelated to the defendant’s contacts with the forum state, if the defendant has engaged in “continuous and systematic” activities in the forum state. Helicopteros Nacionales de Colombia, S.A. v. Hall,

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140 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141760, 2015 WL 6134069, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/721-bourbon-inc-v-house-of-auth-llc-laed-2015.