Louis Ender, Inc. v. General Foods Corporation

467 F.2d 327, 175 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 449, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 7355
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedSeptember 29, 1972
Docket770, Docket 72-1271
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 467 F.2d 327 (Louis Ender, Inc. v. General Foods Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Louis Ender, Inc. v. General Foods Corporation, 467 F.2d 327, 175 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 449, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 7355 (2d Cir. 1972).

Opinions

HAYS, Circuit Judge:

Louis Ender, Inc. appeals from an order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granting defendant-appellee General Foods Corporation summary judgment in an action under 15 U.S.C. § 1120 (1970) for “damages sustained in consequence” of appellee’s alleged procurement of federal registration of the trademark “Maxim” by false declarations in its application for registration. The district court, 341 F.Supp. 1015, ruled that Ender was collaterally es-topped from relitigating issues that had been “finally and conclusively determined adversely to Ender” in a prior action in the Supreme Court of New York. We affirm on the ground that, even assuming that General Foods procured registration of the trademark on the basis of false declarations in its application, Ender failed to allege “any damages sustained in consequence thereof.”

I.

Louis Ender, Inc., a wholesale grocery business located in New York, is the as-signee of the trademark “Maxim,” first registered with the Patent Office in 1908. That trademark was registered specifically for use in the sale of sardines, and, prior to 1965, the trademark was used by the successive assignees only in connection with sardines. General Foods Corporation produces and distributes a large variety of food products, including instant coffee. While continuing to produce and to sell regular instant coffee under its “Maxwell House” label, General Foods developed a process for “freeze drying” coffee. When General Foods considered marketing the new form of instant coffee, it decided that the name “Maxim” would be suitable, perhaps because it was suggestive of General Foods’ “Maxwell House” brand of regular instant coffee. General Foods discovered that that mark was not registered for coffee but that appellant was the assignee of that mark for sardines. To avoid the possibility of friction, Alexander A. Forgacs, an agent of General Foods, procured a consent agreement from Ender on July 31, 1963. This agreement was subsequently assigned to General Foods by Forgacs. Under this agreement:

“(1) Ender . . . [granted] its consent to the registration and/or use of the name MAXIM limited to coffee in any form and tea in any form and . . . [acknowledged] its belief that such use of the name MAXIM is not likely to cause confusion or deception of purchasers.
“(2) Ender [agreed] not [to] use the name MAXIM for any coffee, coffee product, beverage, beverage product, or any preparation for use in making any beverage or beverage product.”

On November 29, 1963 General Foods began test marketing the freeze-dried coffee under the name “Maxim.” On January 21, 1964 it filed an application with the Patent Office for registration of the trademark “Maxim” for coffee and the Patent Office granted the application on September 21, 1964.

Ender contends that three declarations in General Foods’ application were false: that the trademark “was first used [by General Foods] in interstate commerce on November 29, 1963;” “That to the best of [General Foods’] knowledge and belief no other person, firm, corporation or association has the right to use said mark in commerce ! ; ” and that General Foods “believe[d] . . . [General Foods] to be the owner of the mark sought to be registered . . . .”

In the fall of 1965, Ender for the first time began marketing canned fruit juices under the name “Maxim.” General Foods advised Ender that the sale of juices under the name “Maxim” was a violation of the consent agreement, but Ender maintained that fruit juices were not “beverage[s]” or “beverage product^]” within the meaning of that agreement. The parties were unable to [329]*329reach an accord, and in May, 1967 General Foods commenced an action against Ender in the Supreme Court of New York seeking an injunction against End-er’s continued use of the name “Maxim” in connection with the sale of juices. General Foods’ complaint set forth two causes of action. The first alleged that Ender had breached its contractual obligations under the consent agreement. The second alleged that Ender’s “deliberate use, intended to create confusion, of the name ‘MAXIM’ for orange juice and other beverages infringes [General Foods’] use of the name, and constitutes an unlawful and unfair trade practice . . [in] violation of] Section 368-d of the [New York] General business law.” While General Foods alleged that it had procured registration of the mark “Maxim” for coffee, General Foods clearly based its request for injunctive relief on the theory that Ender’s use of “Maxim” constituted unfair competition.

On July 16, 1970, before any decision had been rendered in the state court action, Ender commenced this action in the district court seeking damages and cancellation of General Foods’ “Maxim” registration on the ground that General Foods’ application was false in the particulars set forth above. The damages Ender claimed to have “sustained in consequence” of General Foods’ procurement of the registration on the basis of false statements were the expenses of defending the state court action that General Foods had commenced. General Foods moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, and Ender cross-moved for summary judgment. The district court denied Ender’s motion for summary judgment, denied General Foods’ motion to dismiss “without prejudice to its renewal at a more appropriate time,” and, because the state court action was sub judice, stayed all proceedings in the federal action pending decision in the state court proceeding. But compare Kline v. Burke Construction Co., 260 U.S. 226, 230-232, 43 S.Ct. 79, 67 L.Ed. 226 (1922); Friedman v. N.B.C. Motorcycle Imports, Inc., 452 F.2d 1215, 1217 (2d Cir. 1971); Vernitron Corp. v. Benjamin, 440 F.2d 105 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 402 U.S. 987, 91 S.Ct. 1664, 29 L.Ed.2d 154 (1971).

In May, 1971 the state court rendered its decision, granting General Foods’ application for a permanent injunction against Ender’s continued use of “Maxim” in connection with the sale of juices. Ender unsuccessfully appealed that judgment, and General Foods then renewed its motion in the district court for dismissal of the complaint, and moved for summary judgment on the grounds of collateral estoppel. Ender amended its complaint to allege that General Foods had falsely declared in its application for registration that it had used the trademark in interstate commerce on November 29, 1963 “whereas in truth and in fact [General Foods] did not commence such use in [interstate] commerce until the month of May, 1964.” In addition, Ender purported to set forth a new claim for relief based on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
467 F.2d 327, 175 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 449, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 7355, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louis-ender-inc-v-general-foods-corporation-ca2-1972.