ISI Brands, Inc. v. KCC International, Inc.

458 F. Supp. 2d 81, 83 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1942, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76144, 2006 WL 2989032
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 19, 2006
Docket03 CV 1605(ADS)(WDW)
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 458 F. Supp. 2d 81 (ISI Brands, Inc. v. KCC International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ISI Brands, Inc. v. KCC International, Inc., 458 F. Supp. 2d 81, 83 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1942, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76144, 2006 WL 2989032 (E.D.N.Y. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

ISI Brands, Inc. (“ISI” or the “Plaintiff’), brings this action against KCC International, Inc. (“KCC” or the “Defendant”), seeking injunctive relief and monetary damages for alleged trademark infringement, false designation of origin, dilution, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices.

Pending before the Court is a motion to dismiss the amended complaint by the Defendant pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) and (3) (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”) or, alternatively, to transfer venue to the Middle District of Florida pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The Defendant also moves to dismiss the amended complaint pursuant to N.Y. Bus. Corp. Law Section 1312.

BACKGROUND

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) is “inherently a matter requiring the resolution of factual issues outside of the pleadings.” Yellow Page Solutions, Inc. v. Bell Atl. Yellow Pages Co., No. 00 Civ. 5563, 2001 WL 1468168, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Nov.19, 2001). As a result, “all pertinent documentation submitted by the parties may be considered in deciding the motion.” Id. The following facts, therefore, are drawn from the complaint, affidavits, and documentary exhibits submitted by the Plaintiff and the Defendant, and are construed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff. Id. (citing CutCo Indus., Inc. v. Naughton, 806 F.2d 361, 365 (2d Cir.1986)).

In April 2003, Twin Laboratories, Inc. (“Twin”) commenced this action against the Defendant, alleging, among other things, trademark infringement and unfair competition as a result of the Defendant’s alleged use of a “family of approximately thirty five registered ‘__ FUEL’ marks” in connection with vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements, nutrition bars and drinks.

In September 2003, Twin filed for bankruptcy and the matter was stayed. In December 2003, Twin assigned its interests, including its trademarks, goodwill, applications, registrations and all causes of action for past or present infringement to ISI. In January 2006, the stay was lifted and ISI, substituted for Twin as the Plaintiff in this action.

The Plaintiff, ISI, a Michigan corporation, is an intellectual property holding company. As such, in December 2003, following the assignment of Twin’s interests, ISI licensed the “FUEL” marks at issue to its parent company, IdeaSphere, Inc. (“IdeaSphere”) and its sister company, Twinlab Corporation (“Twinlab”), a wholly owned subsidiary of IdeaSphere. Although the Plaintiffs principal place of business is Grand Rapids, Michigan, ISI’s parent company, IdeaSphere and Idea-Sphere’s wholly owned subsidiary, Twin-lab, were located in the Eastern District of New York until January 2006, and are presently located in the Southern District of New York.

The Defendant, a nutrition company, is incorporated in Florida, with its principal place of business in Florida. The Defendant sells nutrition bars and supplements bearing the name “Living Fuel” to customers through its internet website. The website and the Defendant’s four employees are located in Florida. The website is interactive and permits consumers to place orders, check order status, view products *84 and contact KCC through a telephone number and e-mail address provided on the website.

In its amended complaint, the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant’s use of the mark “Living Fuel” on its nutrition bars and supplements is improper. Specifically, the Plaintiff claims that the Defendant infringed on and diluted its trademark, in violation of the Lanham Act and New York State law.

The Defendant now moves to dismiss this action pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) and (3) for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue, or alternatively, to transfer venue to the Middle District of Florida. The Defendant also moves to dismiss the action alleging that N.Y. Bus. Law section 1312 precludes the Plaintiff, a foreign corporation, from maintaining an action in New York because it is not registered to do business in New York.

DISCUSSION

I. PERSONAL JURISDICTION

In a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2), the plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating that the Court has jurisdiction over the defendant. See Whitaker v. Am. Telecasting, Inc., 261 F.3d 196, 208 (2d Cir.2001); Bank Brussels Lambert v. Fiddler Gonzalez & Rodriguez, 171 F.3d 779, 784 (2d Cir.1999)(citing Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Robertson-Ceco Corp., 84 F.3d 560, 566 (2d Cir.1996)). Where, as here, the parties have not yet conducted discovery, the plaintiff may defeat such a motion by making a prima facie showing of jurisdiction by way of the complaint’s allegations, affidavits, and other supporting evidence. Bank Brussels Lambert, 171 F.3d at 784; Kernan v. Kurz-Hastings, Inc., 175 F.3d 236, 240 (2d Cir.1999). Furthermore, materials presented by the plaintiff should be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and all doubts resolved in its favor. See A.I. Trade Fin., Inc. v. Petra Bank, 989 F.2d 76, 79-80 (2d Cir.1993).

“In a federal question case where a defendant resides outside the forum state, a federal court applies the forum state’s personal jurisdiction rules ‘if the federal statute does not specifically provide for national service of process.’ ” PDK Labs v. Friedlander, 103 F.3d 1105, 1108 (2d Cir. 1997) (citing Mareno v. Rowe, 910 F.2d 1043, 1046 (2d Cir.1990)). The Lanham Act does not provide for nationwide service of process; therefore, “this Court must look to New York’s jurisdictional statutes to determine personal jurisdiction.” Greenlight Capital, Inc. v. GreenLight (Switz.) S.A., No. 04 Civ. 3136, 2005 WL 13682, *2, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2005) (citing Sunward Elecs., Inc. v. McDonald, 362 F.3d 17, 22 (2d Cir.2004)).

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458 F. Supp. 2d 81, 83 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1942, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76144, 2006 WL 2989032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/isi-brands-inc-v-kcc-international-inc-nyed-2006.