Hbp, Inc. v. American Marine Holdings, Inc.

290 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 68 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1798, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20165, 2003 WL 22593589
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 10, 2003
Docket6:02-cv-00957
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 290 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (Hbp, Inc. v. American Marine Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hbp, Inc. v. American Marine Holdings, Inc., 290 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 68 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1798, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20165, 2003 WL 22593589 (M.D. Fla. 2003).

Opinion

Order

BAKER, United States Magistrate Judge.

This cause came on for consideration without oral argument on the following motions filed herein:

MOTION: DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. No. 24)
FILED: June 11, 2003
THEREON it is ORDERED that the motion is DENIED as moot.
MOTION: DEFENDANT’S CORRECTED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. No. 34)
FILED: June 13, 2003
THEREON it is ORDERED that the motion is GRANTED.

Plaintiff HBP, Inc. filed suit against Defendant American Marine Holdings, Inc. (“American Marine”) alleging that American Marine’s “Daytona” racing boats infringe and dilute HBP’s “Daytona” trade and service marks, and asserting related claims for deceptive practices, unfair competition, and injury to business. Doc. No. 1. American Marine filed its Corrected Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 34) on June 13, 2003, and HBP filed its response on July 3, 2003. Doc. 37.

Standard for Decision

A party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the party can show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact. Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 56(c). The substantive law applicable to the case determines which facts are material. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Summary judgment is mandated “against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. In determining whether the moving party has satisfied its burden, the court considers all inferences drawn from the underlying facts in a light most favorable to the party *1325 opposing the motion, and resolves all reasonable doubts against the moving party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. HBP contends that a number of cases hold that, because of the factual nature of trademark disputes, summary judgment is generally disfavored in the trademark arena, citing district court cases from other circuits. Courts in this Circuit have held that cases must be decided on their facts, and in some trademark infringement cases, summary judgment is appropriate when there is no material factual issue on infringement of the trademark. See, e.g., Gift of Learning Foundation, Inc. v. TGC, Inc., 329 F.3d 792, 802 (11th Cir.2003) (affirming summary judgment that as a matter of law no infringement of the term DRIVE PITCH & PUTT had occurred). Although likelihood of confusion generally is a question of fact, this Circuit has decided the issue as a matter of law in infringement cases. Alliance Metals, Inc., of Atlanta v. Hinely Industries, Inc., 222 F.3d 895, 907 (11th Cir.2000) (granting summary judgment to former employer for former employee’s infringement through use of confusingly similar trade name); Investacorp, Inc. v. Arabian Inv. Banking Corp. (Investcorp) E.C., 931 F.2d 1519, 1523 (11th Cir.1991) (granting summary judgment finding no infringement of descriptive term “invest” used by defendant Investcorp.); Beef/Eater Restaurants, Inc. v. James Burrough Limited, 398 F.2d 637, 639 (5th Cir.1968) (“the trial judge, by inspection of trademarks, may himself determine, and must determine, the likelihood of confusion”); see also Little League Baseball, Inc. v. Daytona Beach Little League, Inc., 1977 WL 22777, 193 U.S.P.Q. 611, 614 (M.D.Fla.1977) (granting summary judgment to franchisor on infringement claim against former franchisee).

In Universal Money Centers, Inc. v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co., the plaintiff, like HBP, argued that trademark infringement cases should not be decided at the summary judgment stage because the case involved complex factual issues and required credibility determinations. The Tenth Circuit held:

While we agree that the issue of likelihood of confusion is a question of fact, this does not preclude the entry of summary judgment in trademark infringement cases. Indeed, as the Second Circuit has pointed out, courts retain an important authority to monitor the outer limits of substantial similarity within which a jury is permitted to make the factual determination whether there is a likelihood of confusion as to source. Though likelihood of confusion is frequently a fairly disputed issue of fact on which reasonable minds may differ, the issue is amenable to summary judgment in appropriate cases.

22 F.3d 1527, 1530 n. 2 (10th Cir.1994) (affirming summary judgment for defendant) (citations omitted). See also Kazmaier v. Wooten, 761 F.2d 46, 48 (1st Cir.1985) (affirming summary judgment on trade name infringement claim; “[wjhile infringement and unfair competition cases often present factual issues that render summary judgment inappropriate, this is not invariably so”); Door Systems, Inc. v. Pro-Line Door Systems, Inc., 83 F.3d 169, 171 (7th Cir.1996) (affirming summary judgment finding no infringement of mark “door systems”; “any question of fact can be resolved on summary judgment if the evidence is so one-sided that there can be no doubt about how the question should be answered”); Murray v. Cable Nat’l Broadcasting Co., 86 F.3d 858, 860 (9th Cir.1996) (the factual nature of the likelihood of confusion issue does not preclude the district court from determining likelihood of confusion as a matter of law and granting summary judgment).

*1326 Background Facts 1

HBP is in the business of promoting, organizing and conducting stock car and motorcycle races, such as the widely-known Daytona 500 stock car race and Daytona 200 motorcycle race. Doc. No. 1 ¶ 8. HBP also owns a number of racing venues including the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Id. HBP has developed several “Daytona” registered trademarks, including Daytona USA, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway, 24 Hours of Daytona, Daytona 200, Daytona Pit Shop, Daytona Speed-ware, Daytona Speedweeks, and Daytona at the Speed of Light. Id. ¶ 10. Since 2001, Daytona International Speedway has hosted a major boat show, featuring a variety of watercraft and related products including high performance racing boats and fishing boats. Id. ¶20.

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290 F. Supp. 2d 1320, 68 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1798, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20165, 2003 WL 22593589, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hbp-inc-v-american-marine-holdings-inc-flmd-2003.