Pulse Creations, Inc. v. Vesture Group, Inc.

154 F. Supp. 3d 48, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173222, 2015 WL 9581782
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedDecember 30, 2015
Docket15 Civ. 2496 (KPF)
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 154 F. Supp. 3d 48 (Pulse Creations, Inc. v. Vesture Group, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pulse Creations, Inc. v. Vesture Group, Inc., 154 F. Supp. 3d 48, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173222, 2015 WL 9581782 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

KATHERINE POLK FAILLA, District Judge:

Plaintiff Pulse Creations, Inc. (“Pulse”), a clothing distributor, brought suit in April 2015 against a competitor, ’Vesture Group, Inc. (“Vesture”), and.- several retailers to which Vesture supplies clothing, including Burlington Coat Factory, Inc. (“Burlington”), Sears Holding Corporation (“Sears”), and JC Penney,' Inc. (“JCP”) (collectively, the “Retailer Defendants,” and with Vesture, “Defendants”). In brief, Pulse sought injunctive relief and money damages for Defendants’ alleged infringement of Pulse’s rights to the PINKY trademark described herein, advancing claims under both federal -and New York State law. Defendants now move, under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) [51]*51and 12(b)(6), to dismiss Plaintiffs claims. For the reasons set forth in the remainder of this Opinion, Defendants’ motion is granted in regards to Plaintiffs claim under New York General Business Law § 349, and denied in all other respects.

BACKGROUND1

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Pulse is á New York corporation that sells clothing to a wide range of retailers. (FAC ¶¶ 12, 18, 19). Defendant Vesture is a California corporation that similarly supplies apparel to multiple retailers, including the Retailer Defendants. (Id. at ¶¶ 13-16).

In 2010, Pulse applied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) for a trademark on the “PINKY” mark, stating in its application that it had been using the mark continuously in connection with clothing sales since 1981. (FAC ¶¶ 18, 23). The PINKY mark was thereafter registered to Pulse, on October 30, 2012, for use on “BLOUSES, SHIRTS, PANTS, SHORTS, JACKETS, JUMPSUITS, ROMPERS, ' LOUNGEWEAR, AND SLEEPWEAR ' EXCLUDING BABY, JUVENILE AND TODDLER CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES.” (FAC Ex. A (capitalization in original)).

On April 30, 2013, Vesture filed an application with the USPTO to register the PINKY LOS ANGELES mark, stating that it had used this mark in connection with its sales of a wide range of adult and children’s apparel since November 1, 2009. (FAC ¶ 27). The USPTO rejected Ves-ture’s trademark. application on the grounds that the applied-for mark would likely cause confusion with Pulse’s PINKY mark; consequently, on June 24, 2014, Ves-ture filed a petition to cancel Pulse’s mark. (Id. at ¶¶ 28-29). Vesture subsequently withdrew its petition for cancellation. (Id. at ¶ 31). "

According to Plaintiff, despite having (i) received notice that its mark might cause confusion - with Plaintiffs, and (ii) abandoned its petition to cancel that competing mark, Vesture continued to use the PINKY mark in its sales of both adult and children’s clothing. (FAC ¶ 32). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Vesture continued to sell, and that the Retailer Defendants continued to buy and resell, clothing bearing the PINKY mark, despite knowing that the items infringed upon Pulse’s trademark rights. (Id. at ¶¶ 34, 36-38). To support its allegations, Plaintiff attached exhibits .to its First Amended .Complaint purporting to show, in a non-exhaustive manner, infringing items of clothing sold by each of the Defendants. (See id. at Ex. F-I). . . .

B. Procedural Background

On April 1, 2015, Pulse filed a complaint against Defendants, as well as against Bakk Enterprise, LLC (“Bakk”) and Does 1-20, alleging violations of §§ 32 and 43(a) of the Lanham Act, see 15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125(a), as well as state, law violations under New York General Business Law § 349 and New York common law. (Dkt. #1). On June 11, 2015, Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint, deleting Bakk [52]*52as a defendant and adding an assertion of rights to the trademark ULTRA PINK to Pulse’s previously-claimed right to the PINKY mark. (Dkt. #25).2 Plaintiff alleged the same violations stated in its initial complaint, namely, (i) trademark infringement under Lanham Act § 32, 15 U.S.C. § 1114, (ii) false description and designation of origin in commerce under Lanham Act § 43(a), 15 U.S.C. § 1125, (iii) deceptive trade practices under New York General Business Law § 349, and (iv) trademark infringement and unfair competition, both under New York common law. {Id. at ¶¶ 39-87).

On June 25, 2015, two weeks after Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint, Defendants filed their motion to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). (Dkt. #29, 30). In support of their motion, Defendants submitted four witness declarations setting forth responses to Plaintiffs factual allegations. (Dkt. #31-34). Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff submitted a letter requesting that the Court disregard the submitted declarations as improper extrinsic evidence on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. (Dkt. #36). After receiving Defendants’ responsive letter (Dkt. #37), the Court granted Plaintiffs request, finding that Defendants’ declarations indeed constituted extrinsic evidence inappropriate for consideration upon a Rule 12(b)(6) motion (Dkt. #38).3

On July 27, 2015, Plaintiff submitted its memorandum in opposition to Defendants’ motion. (Dkt. #39). Briefing on the motion then closed on August 10, 2015, with the submission of Defendants’ reply. (Dkt. #40). Notwithstanding the conclusion of the briefing schedule, Defendants submitted a letter on October 21, 2015, setting forth additional information about Ves-ture’s own trademark registration process. (Dkt. #41). Plaintiff filed a responsive letter on October 23, 2015. (Dkt. #42). On October 26, 2015, the Court issued an endorsement of Defendant’s October 21 Letter, noting that (i) briefing on Defendants’ motion had closed and (ii) the Court would consider only “the materials permitted to be considered under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and the relevant case law.” (Dkt. #43).

DISCUSSION

A. Motions Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)

1. Motion to Dismiss Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1)

“[A] district court may properly dismiss a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) if it lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it.” Aurecchione v. Schoolman Transp. Sys., Inc., 426 F.3d 635, 638 (2d Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks omit[53]*53ted); accord Sokolowski v. Metro. Transp. Auth., 723 F.3d 187, 190 (2d Cir.2013).

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Bluebook (online)
154 F. Supp. 3d 48, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173222, 2015 WL 9581782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pulse-creations-inc-v-vesture-group-inc-nysd-2015.