Emerson Radio Corporation v. Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedSeptember 29, 2023
Docket1:20-cv-01652
StatusUnknown

This text of Emerson Radio Corporation v. Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd. (Emerson Radio Corporation v. Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Emerson Radio Corporation v. Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd., (D. Del. 2023).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE EMERSON RADIO CORP., Plaintiff, v. C.A. No. 20-1652-GBW EMERSON QUIET KOOL CO. LTD., HOME EASY LTD., Defendants.

Stacey A. Scrivani, STEVENS & LEE, P.C., Wilmington, Delaware; Mark H. Anania, STEVENS & LEE, P.C., Lawrenceville, NJ; Bobby Ghajar, COOLEY LLP, Santa Monica, California. Counsel for Plaintiff Timothy Devlin, Clifford Chad Henson, DEVLIN LAW FIRM LLC, Wilmington, Delaware. Counsel for Defendants

MEMORANDUM OPINION

September 29, 2023 Wilmington, Delaware

GREGORY B. WILLIAMS UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

For the reasons set forth below, the Court will GRANT Plaintiff's Motion for Damages and Attorney’s Fees, D.I. 260, GRANT-IN-PART, DENY-IN-PART Plaintiff's Motion for Contempt, D.I. 265, and DENY Defendants’ Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement, D.I. 276. I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiff Emerson Radio Corp. (“Emerson Radio” or “Plaintiff’) filed this action against Defendants Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd. (“EQK”) and Home Easy Ltd. (“Home Easy”) (collectively, “Defendants”) seeking to prevent Defendants from infringing upon Emerson Radio’s trademark. See D.I. 30 (“Amended Complaint”). On May 4, 2021, the Court entered a scheduling order setting a trial date for January 10, 2022. D.I. 155. The parties’ summary judgment and Daubert motions were resolved in October and November of 2021. See D.I. 202, 204; see also D.I. 203 (October 18, 2021 Hearing Tr) at 111-114. On December 8, 2021, this Court entered an Oral Order granting Defendants’ counsel’s motion to withdraw as attorney, see D.I. 208, 211-13, and subsequently ordered “that substitute counsel for Defendants must enter an appearance no later than December 15, 2021” and that “[fJailure to do so will result in entry of default, provided Plaintiffs file an appropriate motion.” D.I. 214. On December 15, 2021, Defendants filed a letter with the Court requesting an extension of time to retain new counsel. D.I. 216. That same day, Emerson Radio filed a Request for Entry of Default against the Defendants. D.I. 218. On December 16, 2021, this Court entered a Memorandum Order denying Defendants’ motion for

extension of time and granting Plaintiffs request for entry of default. D.I.219.! The Clerk’s Entry of Default was entered on December 16, 2021. D.I. 220. On December 23, 2021, Emerson Radio filed a motion for default judgment against Defendants. D.I. 223. Following briefing submitted by Plaintiff and Defendants’ new counsel’, the Court issued a Memorandum Order granting Emerson Radio’s motion for default judgment, D.I. 233, and denying Defendants’ motion to set aside the default. D.I. 246. The subsequent Order entered judgment in favor of Emerson Radio and against Defendants on Counts 1-10 of the Amended Complaint. D.I. 247, § 9. The Court also authorized the issuance of a permanent injunction and entered a judgment in favor of Plaintiff against Defendants in the amount of $6,500,000.00. Id, J§ 10-14, 17. Finally, the Court directed the United States Patent and Trademark office to cancel U.S. Registration No. 4,688,893 (“EMERSON QUIET KOOL”) and U.S. Application Serial No. 87/750,176 (“EMERSON QUIET KOOL”). Id., 22. Following this Order, on April 19, 2022, the case was reassigned to the Vacant Judgeship. The matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Thynge for limited purposes. D.I. 256. During this time, Plaintiff filed a Stipulation and Proposed Order for Entry of Final Judgment, D.I. 250, a Motion for Enhanced Damages, Attorneys’ Fees and to Enter Final Judgment, D.I. 260, and a Motion for Contempt, D.I. 265. Defendants filed a Notice of Appeal’, D.I. 251, and an Emergency

denying Defendants’ motion for extension of time, the Court agreed with Emerson Radio that EQK’s request was unwarranted, as the trial was five weeks away and “Defendants’ pattern of failure to secure substitute counsel (both in this case and in related cases before this Court, see D.I. 211 at 2-3), granting the requested extension would only exacerbate the unfair prejudice Plaintiff has already suffered.” D.I. 219, § 3. 2 Following oral orders entered by this Court, D.I. 226, 229, 232, counsel for Defendants made appearances, D.I. 233, 234 and filed an opposition brief to Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment, D.I. 236. 3 The Third Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision on July 11, 2023. See D.I. 285, Ex. A.

Motion for Stay of Injunction Pending Appeal and for Temporary Stay Pending Consideration of Motion, D.I. 252. Following briefing submissions, this Court held a telephonic conference on May 17, 2022, and denied the Emergency Motion and Stipulation for Entry of Final Judgment. D.I. 263 (May 17, 2022 Hearing Tr.) at 10-13. Defendants filed Notices of Filing of Bankruptcy Petition and Automatic Stay on June 17, 2022. D.I. 269; D.I. 270. On September 7, 2022, the case was reassigned to Judge Gregory B. Williams. Plaintiff filed a status letter with the Court, informing the Court that “Defendants’ bankruptcy petitions were each dismissed by the bankruptcy court of the District of New Jersey . . . which terminates the automatic stay as a matter of law.” D.I. 271 at 2; see also D.I. 272 at 2. Thus, this Court ordered briefing for pending motions D.I. 260 and D.I. 265. D.I. 272 at 3. On November 3, 2022, Defendants filed a Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement. D.I. 276. Now pending before this Court are three motions: Plaintiffs Motion for Enhanced Damages, Attorneys’ Fees and to Enter Final Judgment, D.I. 260, Plaintiff's Motion for Contempt, D.I. 265, and Defendants’ Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement, D.I. 276. The Court will address each in turn. Il. MOTION FOR ENHANCED DAMAGES, ATTORNEYS’ FEES, AND ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT A. Legal Standard The Lanham Act provides that the Court may award reasonable attorneys’ fees in exceptional cases. 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). The Third Circuit has held that the Octane Fitness framework for exceptionality and attorneys’ fees under the Patent Act applies equally to claims arising under the Lanham Act. See Fair Wind Sailing, Inc. v. Dempster, 764 F.3d 303, 314-15 (3d Cir. 2014) (“We therefore import Octane Fitness’s definition of ‘exceptionality’ into our interpretation of § 35(a) of the Lanham Act.”). “Under Octane Fitness, a district court may find a

case ‘exceptional,’ and therefore award fees to the prevailing party, when (a) there is an unusual discrepancy in the merits of the positions taken by the parties or (b) the losing party has litigated the case in an ‘unreasonable manner.’” /d. at 315; see also Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 572 U.S. 545, 554 (2014) (“[A]n ‘exceptional’ case is simply one that stands out from others with respect to the substantive strength of a party's litigating position (considering both the governing law and the facts of the case) or the unreasonable manner in which the case was litigated.”). “Whether a case is exceptional is a question committed to the Court’s discretion, and the Court must consider the totality of the circumstances in reaching its conclusion.” Rath v. Vita Sanotec, Inc., C.A. No. 17-953-MN, 2020 WL 5877597, at *2 (D. Del. Oct. 2, 2020) (citing Octane Fitness, 572 U.S. at 554). A party seeking attorneys’ fees must show the case is exceptional by a preponderance of the evidence. Jd. at *2. “The Court may award attorneys’ fees in ‘the rare case in which a party's unreasonable conduct — while not necessarily independently sanctionable — is nonetheless so “exceptional” as to justify an award of fees.’” Jd. at *2 (internal citations omitted). B. Analysis 1. Costs under 15 U.S.C.

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Emerson Radio Corporation v. Emerson Quiet Kool Co. Ltd., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/emerson-radio-corporation-v-emerson-quiet-kool-co-ltd-ded-2023.