Owen v. Askew

District Court, D. Oregon·Decided August 7, 2025·No. 6:25-cv-01272·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON EUGENE DIVISION

KURSTEN OWEN, individually Civ. No. 6:25-cv-01272-AA and dba Elegance & Geekery LLC, Plaintiff, OPINION & ORDER v. BREANA ASKEW, individually and dba Breromi; KIANDRIA DEMONE BOYCE; DOES 1-100, Defendants. _______________________________________ AIKEN, District Judge. This case comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. ECF No. 8. The Court held an evidentiary hearing by telephone on August 6, 2025. ECF No. 32. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED in part. LEGAL STANDARD A preliminary injunction is an “extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008). A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must show (1) that he or she is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) he or she is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) the balance of the equities tips in his or her favor; and (4) an injunction is in the public interest. Id. at 20. In the Ninth Circuit, courts may apply an alternative “serious questions” test

which allows for a preliminary injunction where a plaintiff shows that “serious questions going to the merits” were raised and the balance of hardships tips sharply in plaintiff’s favor, assuming the other two elements of the Winter test are met. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1131-32 (9th Cir. 2011). This formulation applies a sliding scale approach where a stronger showing on one element may offset a weaker showing in another element. Id. at 1131. Nevertheless, the party requesting a preliminary injunction must carry its burden of persuasion by

a “clear showing” of the four elements set forth above. Lopez v. Brewer, 680 F.3d 1068, 1072 (9th Cir. 2012). BACKGROUND Plaintiff in this case is the owner of a business, Elegance & Geekery LLC, which sells hair accessories. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 7. ECF No. 1. Defendant Breana Askew is a resident of Georgia who does business as Breromi. Id. at ¶¶ 1, 4. Defendant

Kiandria Demone Boyce is a resident of Georgia. Id. at ¶ 5. Beginning on July 14, 2025, Askew “began a coordinated online campaign making false statements,” including “publicly accusing Plaintiff of design/invention theft, racism, selling counterfeit versions of goods Defendant Askew claimed she owned patents and trademarks covering, and encouraging the public to report Plaintiff’s online shopping platforms on sites like Etsy, Shopify, and TikTok as fraudulent and/or engaged in illegal activity including selling counterfeit goods.” Compl. ¶ 8. Askew’s campaign is based on her claim that Plaintiff is selling a hair accessory

which Askew claims infringes on her patent. Compl. ¶ 10. Plaintiff alleges that “Askew’s only claim to any intellectual property is her filing of an application (not yet reviewed) for a trademark over the phrase ‘Magnetic Hair Clip’ and a filed patent application (not yet published)” and that the “content of that application has never been provided, so no one knows what she is even claiming she has rights to.” Id. Plaintiff alleges that between July 14 and July 17, 2025, Defendants “engaged in an online smear campaign, attempting to leverage public hate and harassment as

a means of forcing Plaintiff to flee the market.” Compl. ¶ 12. This campaign is “ongoing” and “will likely continue without court interference.” Id. Among other things, Defendants have accused Plaintiff of racism, theft of intellectual property relating to the hair clip, and the sale of counterfeit goods. Id. at ¶¶ 13-14. Defendants have attempted to coordinate third-party complaints to Plaintiff’s vendors in an effort to have Plaintiff’s store removed from online platforms.

Defendants’ campaign against Plaintiff has resulted in public confusion, as well as threats and abuse directed at Plaintiff by third parties who read Defendants’ statements concerning Plaintiff. Compl. ¶ 16. This campaign has damaged Plaintiff’s business reputation and her personal reputation. Plaintiff alleges that she had suffered lost profits, lost sales, and lost customer goodwill. Compl. ¶ 18. On July 24, 2025, the Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and enjoined Defendants from (1) “[p]ublicly accusing Plaintiff Kursten Owen, individually and doing business as Elegance & Geekery LLC,

of theft, counterfeiting, or other unlawful business practices,” and (2) from “[e]ngaging in harassing conduct directed at Plaintiff, such as filing complaints with Plaintiff’s business partners, or the encouraging of third parties to do so.” ECF No. 10. Plaintiff was directed to promptly serve Defendants with the Complaint, the TRO motion, and the Order granting the TRO and to file proof of service within seven days. Boyce was personally served by a process server in Marietta, Georgia on July 25, 2025. ECF No. 14. Despite repeated efforts, Plaintiff was unable to serve Askew

by process server and, on July 29, 2025, Plaintiff filed a motion for alternative service. ECF No. 13. The Court granted the motion on July 30, 2025, and authorized Plaintiff to serve Askew by email. ECF No. 15. Defendant Askew was served by email on July 30, 2025. ECF No. 16. Boyce appeared in this action on August 5, 2025. Askew appeared in this action at the hearing held on August 6, 2025.

DISCUSSION Plaintiff bring claims for defamation (Claim 1); trade defamation (Claim 2); tortious interference with business relations and prospective economic advantage (Claim 3); civil conspiracy to defame and interfere with business (Claim 4); intentional infliction of emotional distress (Claim 5); false advertising and unfair competition pursuant to the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (Claim 6); unfair and deceptive trade practices under Oregon law as to Askew (Claim 7); and negligence (Claim 8). Plaintiff seeks injunctive and declaratory relief in addition to monetary damages.

Plaintiff focuses her request for injunctive relief on her claims for defamation and seeks to continue the existing TRO as a preliminary injunction restraining Askew and Boyce from making further defamatory statements concerning Plaintiff or her business or engaging in harassing or misleading conduct or encouraging others to do so. I. Likelihood of Success on the Merits To prevail on a motion for preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show either

a likelihood of eventual success on the merits or, under the Ninth Circuit’s alternative “sliding scale” formulation of the test, serious questions going to the merits of their claims. Winter, 555 U.S. at 20; Alliance for the Wild Rockies, 632 F.3d at 1131-32. However, a court’s decision on a motion for preliminary injunction is not a ruling on the merits of the claim. Sierra On-Line, Inc. v. Phoenix Software, Inc., 739 F.2d 1415, 1422 (9th Cir. 1984).

A. Service At the hearing, Defendants each separately challenged sufficiency of service. Boyce asserts that she was not properly served and denies that she received personal service. However, on July 30, 2025, Plaintiff filed a Return of Service signed by a professional process server stating that Boyce was personally served on July 25, 2025, at 3:40 p.m. ECF No. 14. The Ninth Circuit has held that a “signed return of service constitutes prima facie evidence of valid service which can be overcome only by strong and convincing evidence.” S.E.C. v. Internet Sols.

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