American United Life Insurance v. American United Insurance

731 F. Supp. 480, 15 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1873, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1852, 1990 WL 17399
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 8, 1990
Docket89-6191-Civ
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 731 F. Supp. 480 (American United Life Insurance v. American United Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American United Life Insurance v. American United Insurance, 731 F. Supp. 480, 15 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1873, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1852, 1990 WL 17399 (S.D. Fla. 1990).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND FINAL JUDGMENT

JAMES LAWRENCE KING, Chief Judge.

This cause was tried from November 28, 1989, through December 1, 1989, before this court sitting without a jury. The court has heard and considered the testimony of the witnesses and considered the exhibits and the arguments of counsel. In accordance with Rule 52(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this court now makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Plaintiff, American United Life Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”), is a mutual life insurance company whose services consist of underwriting life, universal life, health, income replacement, accident, pension, group, hospitalization, and credit insurance, as well as providing reinsurance.

Defendant, American United Insurance Company (“Defendant”), is also in the business of providing insurance. Defendant sells private passenger and commercial automobile liability and property damage insurance.

Plaintiff adopted the trade name and service mark “American United Life Insurance Company” in 1936. Since that time, plaintiff has continuously used this trade name and service mark to market and sell its products and services.

Plaintiff is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Indianapolis, Indiana. Plaintiff was first licensed to conduct business in the state of Florida as an insurance company in 1937 under the name “American United Life Insurance Company” and has continuously maintained this license.

Defendant is a Florida corporation, which was formed in November 1983, and has been licensed in Florida to sell insurance under the name “American United Insurance Company” since 1984.

Plaintiff is the prior owner and user of the trade name and service mark “American United Life Insurance Company.”

Plaintiffs origins date back to 1877, when one of plaintiffs predecessors first began doing business as an insurance company. Plaintiffs adoption in 1936 of the trade name and service mark “American United Life Insurance Company” occurred following the merger of its predecessor companies, American Central Life Insurance Company and United Mutual Life Insurance Company. The first word of each of the predecessor companies, “American” and “United,” was arbitrarily chosen as the name for the new company.

Defendant’s agent testified that the name “American United” was selected by defendant as the name for defendant’s company because Saudi Arabians were serving as investors for a company which would be operated and managed by Americans in the United States. In the view of those individuals who formed the defendant corporation, the project demonstrated the unity of the two groups in this American venture.

The words “American United” are arbitrary as applied to insurance. There is no relationship between the words “American United” and the product each company sells, which is insurance. Clearly, these words are not descriptive nor generic of insurance.

Plaintiff’s service mark, “American United Life Insurance Company,” is a federally registered service mark which is listed on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Reg. No. 1,556,096). Plaintiff’s service mark was registered September 12, 1989.

“American United Life Insurance Company” is also registered as a service mark with the state of Florida (State of Florida Reg. No. T1146). This registration occurred on July 24, 1989.

*483 Defendant has not registered “American United Insurance Company” as a service mark, either federally or with the state of Florida.

Plaintiff markets and sells its policies and services under the trade name and service mark “American United Life Insurance Company” throughout the United States, including Florida. Plaintiff uses its trade name and service mark, “American United Life Insurance Company,” in interstate commerce.

Plaintiff maintains general agencies in Florida with a total of 35-40 sales representatives in Florida. Two of these general agencies are located in Tampa, Florida. One agency is located in Boca Raton, another in Melbourne, and one in Jacksonville, Florida.

Since 1979, plaintiff has spent in excess of $5 million in advertising nationally its trade name and service mark, “American United Life Insurance Company,” and has built up extensive good will in its name and a good reputation over the fifty years that it has been using the name “American United Life Insurance Company.” Plaintiff advertises its trade name and service mark over the radio, on television, and in newspapers and other publications. In addition to the money expended directly by plaintiff for advertising, plaintiffs agents also advertise plaintiffs service mark and trade name in Florida. In addition, plaintiff prints and distributes to customers and prospective customers numerous pamphlets and brochures, which describe and promote plaintiffs products and services and advertise plaintiffs trade name and service mark, “American United Life Insurance Company.”

Defendant has engaged in virtually no advertising of its name. The only use defendant makes of its name is the listing of its name on business forms and on a calendar printed by its managing agent. The calendar also contains the names of two other insurance companies as well as the name of the defendant’s managing general agent, Public Assurance Group, Ltd., Inc. (“Public”).

Defendant’s business operations are conducted by its managing general agent, Public. Public performs every function of running defendant’s company with the exception of handling claims. Public selects the individual agents who sell defendant’s policies and Public makes all decisions as to acceptance or rejection of prospective insureds. Until some point in 1989, all claims were handled for the defendant by yet another company, the Apex Adjustment Bureau.

Plaintiff conducts its own business operations, handles its own claims, trains its agents to ensure uniformity in service, and makes its own decisions as to acceptance or rejection of prospective insureds.

Plaintiff was ranked in August 1988 by Best’s Review. Best’s Review is a publication of the A.M. Best Company and is considered to be a reliable and accurate source within the insurance industry, giving comparisons and ratings of insurance companies. Best’s Review listed plaintiff as the nation’s 66th largest life insurance company in terms of insurance in force, and the 73rd largest life insurance company in terms of assets. In 1988, plaintiff was ranked as the nation’s 24th largest mutual life insurance company in terms of assets, and the nation’s 20th largest mutual life insurance company in terms of life insurance in force. Plaintiff has consistently been awarded the highest rating an insurance company is given by the A.M. Best Company, the “A+ rating.”

Since 1986, 2,507 consumer complaints have been filed with the Florida Department of Insurance against the defendant for its claim-handling delays. During this same period of time, plaintiff had only 35 complaints filed against it.

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731 F. Supp. 480, 15 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1873, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1852, 1990 WL 17399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-united-life-insurance-v-american-united-insurance-flsd-1990.