Flat Rate Movers, Ltd. v. Flatrate Moving & Storage, Inc.

104 F. Supp. 3d 371, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52970, 2015 WL 1849834
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 22, 2015
DocketNo. 13 CV 0059(MGC)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 104 F. Supp. 3d 371 (Flat Rate Movers, Ltd. v. Flatrate Moving & Storage, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flat Rate Movers, Ltd. v. Flatrate Moving & Storage, Inc., 104 F. Supp. 3d 371, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52970, 2015 WL 1849834 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

CEDARBAUM, District Judge.

FlatRate Movers, Ltd. (d/b/a FlatRate Moving) brings this suit against FlatRate Moving & Storage, Inc., Moshe Alush, Eli-yahu Alush, and Itzhak Alush for trademark infringement, unfair competition, and cybersquatting. Plaintiff moves for sum[377]*377mary judgment. That motion is granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

As an initial matter, Defendants failed to submit a response to Plaintiffs Local Rule 56.1 statement of undisputed facts. Plaintiffs 56.1 statement is therefore deemed admitted to the extent it is supported by the record. Nike, Inc. v. Top Brand Co. Ltd., 2005 WL 1654859, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. July 13, 2005). Further, although Defendants’ opposition to.Plaintiffs motion lacks substance (consisting only of a brief that cites no cases, a conclusory declaration, and irrelevant attachments), the Court nonetheless has closely scrutinized Plaintiffs arguments on its own.

Turning to the undisputed facts, Plaintiff is a moving and storage services company that has operated nationwide as ■ “FLA-TRATE MOVING” since 1991. Prior to providing moving services, Plaintiff presents customers with a guaranteed, or “flat,” rate for the service.

On October 18, 2002, Plaintiff applied to register as its trademark “FLATRATE. MOVING & Design.” The trademark was registered (No. 2910322) on December 14, 2004, and became incontestable on January 26, 2010.

On September 20, 2006, Plaintiff applied to register as its trademark “FLATRATE MOVING & Design.” . The trademark was registered (No. 3270882) on July 31, 2007, and became incontestable on August 20, 2012.

On September 7, 2010, Plaintiff applied to register as its trademark “FLATRATE MOVING.” That trademark was registered (No. 4051739) on November 8, 2011.

Prior to registering the three trademarks, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office accepted Plaintiffs showing that each mark enjoyed acquired distinctiveness in the market.

Plaintiff purchased the website “fla-trate.com” in 1995 and has operated under it for business purposes since 1998. Plaintiff has spent millions of dollars over the years to advertise its business, and won awards for quality service. Plaintiff s website, as well as its ninety trucks, displays its registered trademark:

[[Image here]]

Plaintiff asserts that the individual defendants Moshe Alush, Eliyahu Alush, and Itzhak Alush jointly own and operate the corporate defendant, FlatRate Moving & Storage, Inc. The company consists of the three brothers, two secretaries, and five movers. At deposition, Eliyahu Alush stated that he owns and manages the company, describing it as a “family business.” Moshe Alush also stated that he owns the company. Itzhak Alush filed the company’s initial articles of incorporation in 2003, and was, at least at one point, an owner as well. Both Eliyahu and Moshe have been in charge of the company’s advertising and website over the years.

Defendants did not perform any trademark searches or consult with an attorney before adopting their business nariie. The company operates in Maryland, Virginia, and New York, among other areas. It sells moving services both at guaranteed flat rates and at hourly rates. Defendants offer moving services through the- website “flatratemovers.com,” which they purchased in 2001. Each of the three individual defendants also purchased at least one of the following domain names at various times after 2004: flatratemove.com, flatra-temovingcompanies.com, flatratemovinges-timates.com, flatratemovingestimats.com, flatratemovingestimate.com, and flatratem-[378]*378ovingestimat.com. Defendants conduct their moves using trucks that display the name “FLAT RATE MOVERS”. The defendant corporation lost its corporate status under Maryland law in 2009 but continues to operate.

Defendants’ company name is displayed on their website as follows:

[[Image here]]

Multiple customers of Plaintiff have mistakenly attributed Defendants’ unsatisfactory services to Plaintiff because the customers confused the two companies. Multiple customers have accidentally contacted Defendants when intending to book another move with Plaintiff. In two instances, a customer of Plaintiff erroneously contacted Defendants for a second move. The customers informed Defendants that they were repeat customers (although they had not moved with Defendants previously), but Defendants did not correct their assumptions. Finally, in another instance, Defendants gave a disgruntled customer Plaintiffs phone number in order for that individual to voice a complaint.1

Plaintiff previously sued defendant Fla-tRate Moving & Storage, Inc. for trademark infringement in the District of Maryland in 2004. At deposition in that case, Eliyahu Alush stated that that his company did not use the “FLAT RATE” name on its trucks to perform moves in New York in order to avoid confusion with Plaintiff. Eliyahu Alush also stated that, again to avoid confusion, another name was registered for his company: “Tiptop Movers.” The Maryland case was discontinued and dismissed without prejudice.

Plaintiff has continued performing moves using trucks displaying the name “FLAT RATE MOVERS” even after commencement of this lawsuit.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate where there is “no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a 'matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In making this determination, the Court must view all facts “in the light most favorable” to the non-moving party. Matthews v. City of New York, 779 F.3d 167, 171 (2d Cir.2015). The non-moving party may not, however, rely “on mere speculation or conjecture as to the true nature of the facts to overcome a motion for summary judgment.” Hicks v. Baines, 593 F.3d 159, 166 (2d Cir.2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). Instead, when the moving party has documented particular facts in the record, “the opposing party must come forward with specific evidence demonstrating the existence of a genuine dispute of material fact.” FDIC v. Great Am. Ins. Co., 607 F.3d 288, 292 (2d Cir.2010).

DISCUSSION

1. FEDERAL TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT AND UNFAIR COMPETITION2

Claims of trademark infringement, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1), and unfair competi[379]*379tion, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), are evaluated under the same two-part test: (1) is plaintiffs mark entitled to protection, and (2) is defendant’s use of the mark likely to cause confusion. Arrow Fastener Co. v. Stanley Works, 59 F.3d 384, 390 & n. 4 (2d Cir.1995).

Here, Plaintiffs three marks are registered and entitled to protection in the absence of other evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
104 F. Supp. 3d 371, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52970, 2015 WL 1849834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flat-rate-movers-ltd-v-flatrate-moving-storage-inc-nysd-2015.