Chanel, Inc. v. Replicachanelbag

362 F. Supp. 3d 1256
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided January 16, 2019·No. Case No. 18-cv-62860-BLOOM/Valle·Published·Cited by 21 cases

Opinion

BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Plaintiff Chanel, Inc.'s ("Plaintiff"), Motion for Entry of Final Default Judgment Against Defendants, ECF No. [31] ("Motion"), filed on January 16, 2019. A Clerk's Default, ECF No. [27], was entered against Defendants on January 9, 2019, as Defendants failed to appear, answer, or otherwise plead to the Complaint, ECF No. [1], despite having been served. See ECF No. [15]. The Court has carefully considered the Motion, the record in this case, the applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's Motion is GRANTED .

I. Introduction

Plaintiff sued Defendants for trademark counterfeiting and infringement under § 32 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114 ; false designation of origin under § 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) ; common-law unfair competition; and common law trademark infringement. The Complaint alleges that Defendants are promoting, advertising, distributing, offering for sale and selling goods bearing counterfeits and confusingly similar imitations of Plaintiff's registered trademarks within the Southern District of Florida by operating Internet based photo albums accessible via the image hosting website Yupoo.com, or social media website Instagram.com, under the user identities set forth on Schedule "A" attached to Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Final Default Judgment (the "Seller IDs"), in tandem with electronic communication via private messaging applications and/or services. See ECF No. [31], at 19-20.

Plaintiff further asserts that Defendants' unlawful activities have caused and will continue to cause irreparable injury to Plaintiff because Defendants have (1) deprived Plaintiff of its right to determine the manner in which its trademarks are presented to the public through merchandising; (2) defrauded the public into thinking Defendants' goods are goods authorized by Plaintiff; (3) deceived the public as to Plaintiff's association with Defendants' goods and the websites that market and sell the goods; and (4) wrongfully traded and capitalized on Plaintiff's reputation and goodwill, as well as the commercial value of Plaintiff's trademarks.

In its Motion, Plaintiff seeks the entry of default final judgment against Defendants *12591 in an action alleging trademark counterfeiting and infringement, false designation of origin, common-law unfair competition, and common law trademark infringement. Plaintiff further requests that the Court (1) enjoin Defendants from producing or selling goods that infringe its trademarks; (2) disable and/or cease facilitating access to the seller identification names, photo albums, user names, and private messaging accounts being used and/or controlled by Defendants; (3) remove the listings and associated images of goods bearing Plaintiff's trademarks via the photo albums under the Seller IDs; (4) terminate any messaging services, seller identification names and social media accounts owned/controlled by Defendants; and (5) award statutory damages.

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2), the Court is authorized to enter a final judgment of default against a party who has failed to plead in response to a complaint. "[A] defendant's default does not in itself warrant the court entering a default judgment." DirecTV, Inc. v. Huynh, 318 F.Supp.2d 1122, 1127 (M.D. Ala. 2004) (quoting Nishimatsu Constr. Co., Ltd. v. Houston Nat'l Bank , 515 F.2d 1200, 1206 (5th Cir. 1975) ). Granting a motion for default judgment is within the trial court's discretion. See Nishimatsu , 515 F.2d at 1206. Because the defendant is not held to admit facts that are not well pleaded or to admit conclusions of law, the court must first determine whether there is a sufficient basis in the pleading for the judgment to be entered. See id. ; see also Buchanan v. Bowman, 820 F.2d 359, 361 (11th Cir. 1987) ("[L]iability is well-pled in the complaint, and is therefore established by the entry of default...."). Upon a review of Plaintiff's submissions, it appears there is a sufficient basis in the pleading for the default judgment to be entered in favor of Plaintiff.

II. Factual Background2

Plaintiff is the registered owner of the following trademarks which are valid and registered on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the "Chanel Marks"):

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Chanel, Inc. v. Replicachanelbag, 362 F. Supp. 3d 1256 (S.D. Fla. 2019).

362 F. Supp. 3d 1256 (Chanel, Inc. v. Replicachanelbag) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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