Peter Coppola Beauty, LLC v. Casaro Labs, Ltd.

108 F. Supp. 3d 1323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75043, 2015 WL 3544291
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 8, 2015
DocketCase No. 9:14-CV-81488
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 108 F. Supp. 3d 1323 (Peter Coppola Beauty, LLC v. Casaro Labs, Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peter Coppola Beauty, LLC v. Casaro Labs, Ltd., 108 F. Supp. 3d 1323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75043, 2015 WL 3544291 (S.D. Fla. 2015).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

KENNETH A. MARRA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon Plaintiffs Verified Motion for Preliminary Injunction [D.E. 9]. The Court held hearings on the motion on March 30, 2015 and April 21, 2015. The Court received testimony from Mr. Yosef “Joe” Davidson, Mr. Samuel Lubliner, and Ron D’Anna, Esq. The Court has considered the exhibits admitted into evidence and the arguments of counsel and has determined the credibility of witnesses. Pursuant to Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”), the Court shall now make its findings of fact and conclusions of law.

I.FINDINGS OF FACT

1. This action arises from a dispute concerning the use of the trademark, “Peter Coppola New York.” Plaintiff has sued Defendants for: (1) trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114; (2) unfair competition under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); (3) common law trademark infringement and unfair competition; and (4) unfair competition and deceptive trade practices under Fla. Stat. §§ 501.201 et seq.

2. Defendants challenge all of Plaintiffs claims on the basis of Rule 25(c), res judicata and general release, all of which arise in connection with a prior lawsuit brought by Plaintiffs predecessor in interest, Mr. Peter Coppola, individually, in Peter Coppola v. Casaro Labs, Ltd., S.D.Fla. Case No. 9:12-cv-81163-KAM (the “Prior Litigation”).

The Prior Litigation

3. In October 2008, Mr. Coppola and Defendant Casaro Labs, Ltd. entered into a licensing agreement whereby Defendants were authorized to manufacture and sell hair care products under the “Peter Coppola” trademarks for a period of five years, or until October 2, 2013 (the “2008 Trademark License”). [First Amended Complaint, Case No. 9:12-ev-81163-KAM, D.E. 30-3; Plf. Ex. 3].1

4. Following a dispute with Defendants, Mr. Coppola terminated the 2008 Trademark License effective [1326]*1326July 5, 2012. [First Amended Complaint, Case No. 9:12-cv-81163-KAM, D.E. 30, ¶23 and letter attached as D.E. 30-10; Pltf. Ex. 25, p. 12].

5. In October 2012, Mr. Coppola initiated the Prior Litigation against Defendants, asserting claims for breach of the 2008 Trademark License, trademark infringement, unfair competition, and accounting. [Id.]

6. On March 6, 2014, the parties to the Prior Litigation negotiated, through a series of emails between their attorneys, a settlement which included, inter alia, Defendants’ payment of $275,000, a 16-month license agreement (commencing on June 1, 2014 and expiring on September 30, 2015) to continue using the “Peter Coppola New York” trademark, and a general release. [Report & Recommendation (“R & R”), Deft. Ex. 4, p. 3; Settlement Agreement, Deft. Ex. 6; Trademark License Agreement, Deft. Ex. 7]

7. Mr. Coppola later attempted to retreat from that agreement, and Defendants filed a Motion to Enforce. [Case No. 9:12-cv-81163-KAM, D.E. 44]

8. An evidentiary hearing on Defendants’ Motion to Enforce was held before Magistrate Judge James M. Hopkins on April 17, 2014.

9. ■ Yosef “Joe” Davidson testified at the hearing on Mr. Coppola’s behalf. Mr. Davidson, who resides in New York and is Plaintiffs Chief Operating Officer, is the son of Karen Davidson, Plaintiffs co-manager. Mr. Davidson acted on behalf of Ms. Davidson relative to many of Ms. Davidson’s co-management responsibilities, including liaising with Mr. D’Anna concerning the Prior Litigation. [R & R, Deft. Ex. 4, p. 5; Trans-Ptl, 32:12; Trans., 21:20-21]2

10. Magistrate Judge -Hopkins recommended that Defendants’ Motion to Enforce be granted and that Mr. Coppola be ordered to “execute the final settlement documents, including the full mutual releases and licensing agreement” contemplated by the settlement. [Deft. Ex. 4, p. 13]

11. On May 16, 2014, this Court entered an Order Affirming Magistrate Judge Hopkins’ Report and Recommendation and ordered Mr. Coppola to execute the Settlement Agreement “including the full mutual releases” and new Trademark License Agreement. [Case No. 9:12-cv-81163-KAM, D.E. 62; Deft. Ex. 5, p. 6]

12. Of particular import to this case, this Court noted as follows:

This case is only about a settlement between the parties to this litigation. It is not binding on third parties unless those third parties were in privity with the litigant or were represented by one of the parties.

[Case 9:12-cv-81163-KAM, D.E. 62; Deft. Ex. 5, p. 5. (emphasis supplied) ]. The Court added a footnote to these two sentences as follows:

A court may apply nonparty preclusion if: (1) the nonparty agreed to be bound by the litigation of others; (2) a substantive legal relationship existed between the person to be bound and a party to the judgment; (3) the non-party was adequately represented by someone who was a party to the suit; (4) the nonparty assumed control over the litigation in which the judgment was issued; (5) a party attempted to relitigate issues through a proxy; or [1327]*1327(6) a statutory scheme foreclosed successive litigation by nonlitigants. Griswold v. Cntv. [Cnty.] of Hillsborough, 598 F.3d 1289, 1292 (11th Cir.2010) (citing Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 893-94 [128 S.Ct. 2161, 171 L.Ed.2d 155] (2008)).

The Settlement and Trademark License Agreements from the Prior Litigation

13. Shortly after the Court’s Order Affirming the Report & Recommendation, the parties to the Prior Litigation, namely Mr. Coppola and Defendants, executed the Settlement Agreement and Trademark License Agreement, and filed with the Court a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal “in accordance with” the Settlement Agreement. [Case No. 9:12-cv-81163-KAM, D.E. 64]

14. The Settlement Agreement provided, in pertinent part, as follows:

Paragraph 3 of the Settlement Agreement, titled “Mutual General Releases,” contains broad releases on behalf of the parties “and their employees, agents, officers, directors, legal representatives, partners, stockholders ... predecessors, successors in interest, assigns, parent companies, subsidiaries, [and] affiliates ” releasing and forever discharging all claims “asserted or that could have been asserted in the Lawsuit, or arising out of the relationships, contracts, agreements and dealings that any of the Parties ever had, now have, or which any of them hereafter can, shall or may have for, upon or by reason of any matter, cause or thing whatsoever, known or unknown, accrued or unaccrued, from the beginning of the world to the date of execution and exchange of this Mutual General Release.” [Deft. Ex. 6, ¶ 3, emphasis supplied]

15.

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108 F. Supp. 3d 1323, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75043, 2015 WL 3544291, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peter-coppola-beauty-llc-v-casaro-labs-ltd-flsd-2015.