Van Praagh v. Gratton

993 F. Supp. 2d 293, 2014 WL 292460, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10352
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 28, 2014
DocketNo. 13-CV-375 (ADS)(AKT)
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 993 F. Supp. 2d 293 (Van Praagh v. Gratton) 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
Van Praagh v. Gratton, 993 F. Supp. 2d 293, 2014 WL 292460, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10352 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On January 22, 2013, the Plaintiff James Van Praagh (the “Plaintiff’) commenced this trademark infringement action against his sister, the Defendant Lynn Gratton (the “Defendant”). The Plaintiff accuses the Defendant of (1) trademark infringement in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1)(a); (2) false designation of origin in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); (3) trademark dilution in violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c); and (4) trademark infringement, unfair competition, trademark dilution and deceptive acts and practices in violation of N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law (“NYGBL”) §§ 349 and 360-l and New York common law.

[298]*298Presently before the Court is a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.P.”) 12(b)(6) motion by the Defendant to dismiss the Plaintiffs Complaint in its entirety. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants in part and denies in part the Defendant’s motion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Rule 12(b) Standard for Considering Factual Allegations and Evidence Outside the Complaint

Before reciting the underlying factual allegations of this case, as an initial matter, the Court notes that despite the Defendant’s apparent confusion, generally evidence outside of the Complaint may not be considered by the Court when deciding a motion to dismiss brought pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). See, e.g., DiFolco v. MSNBC Cable L.L.C., 622 F.3d 104, 113 (2d Cir.2010) (“In ruling on a motion pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the duty of a court is merely to assess the legal feasibility of the complaint, not to assay the weight of the evidence which might be offered in support thereof.”) (citation and internal question marks omitted); Hahn v. Rocky Mt. Express Corp., No. 11 Civ. 8512(LTS)(GWG), 2012 WL 2930220, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. June 16, 2012) (“When deciding a motion to dismiss ... [e]vidence outside [the complaint] ... cannot [ ] be considered on review of a 12(b)(6) motion.”) (citation and internal quotation marks and alterations omitted).

Rather, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d), where matters outside the complaint are presented in connection with a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, “a district court must either ‘exclude the additional material and decide the motion on the complaint alone’ or ‘convert the motion to one for summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 and afford all parties the opportunity to present supporting material.’ ” Friedl v. City of New York, 210 F.3d 79, 83 (2d Cir.2000) (quoting Fonte v. Bd. of Managers of Continental Towers Condo., 848 F.2d 24, 25 (2d Cir.1988)).

In this case, the Court declines to convert the Plaintiffs motion to dismiss to one for summary judgment. Thus, while the Defendant repeatedly attempts to counter the Plaintiffs Complaint with her own factual allegations not alleged in the Complaint, these allegations cannot be considered by the Court at this stage of the litigation. See, e.g., Dual Groupe, LLC v. Gans-Mex LLC, 932 F.Supp.2d 569, 572 (S.D.N.Y.2013) (“Defendants dispute many of the complaint’s factual allegations, which the court cannot adjudicate at the motion to dismiss stage.”) Nevertheless, in its analysis, the Court may refer “to documents attached to the complaint as an exhibit or incorporated in it by reference, to matters of which judicial notice may be taken, or to documents either in [the] [P]laintiff[’s] possession or of which [the] [P]laintiff[ ] had knowledge and relied on in bringing suit.” Brass v. Am. Film Tech., Inc., 987 F.2d 142, 150 (2d Cir.1993)

In this regard, the Court will consider the Defendant’s website, as it was incorporated by reference in the Plaintiffs Complaint. (See Compl., ¶ 17.) However, the Court declines to take judicial notice of the death of the Defendant’s husband, Dennis Gratton, on June 7, 2000, since the Defendant has failed to provide the Court with a copy of Dennis Grafton’s death certificate, which courts generally require. See Johnson v. Morgenthau, 160 F.3d 897, 898 (2d Cir.1998) (taking judicial notice that the plaintiff had died because his sister-in law provided the court with a copy of the plaintiffs death certificate); G-I Holdings, Inc. v. Baron & Budd, No. 01 Civ. 0216(RWS), 2003 WL 193502, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 29, 2003) (in a wrongful [299]*299death suit, taking judicial notice of the date of the decedents’ deaths where the defendants attached copies of their death certificates to their motion to dismiss). Moreover, even if the Court were to consider the death of the Defendant’s husband, it would have no impact on the Court’s decision. Lastly, the Court shall consider no additional factual allegations raised by the Defendant in either her motion papers or reply, as none of the Defendant’s other factual allegations meet the criteria to allow for their consideration on a motion to dismiss.

Thus, unless otherwise stated, the Court, as it must, draws the following facts from the Plaintiffs Complaint and construes them in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

B. Underlying Factual Allegations

The Plaintiff, a resident of California, and the Defendant, a resident of New York, are siblings. (Compl., ¶¶ 1-2, 13.) While the Defendant and the Plaintiff at one time shared the surname “Van Praagh,” the Defendant ceased using “Van Praagh” as her last name when she married on August 28, 1970, at which time she assumed the surname “Gratton” instead. (Compl., ¶ § 13-14.) As such, “Van Praagh” is no longer the Defendant’s surname and has not been for more than forty years. (Compl., ¶ 15.)

The Plaintiff purports that for the last twenty years, he has provided spiritual medium services in connection with his name and trademark “James Van Praagh” (the “James Van Praagh Trademark”). (Compl., ¶ 7.) In this regard, while using the James Van Praagh Trademark, he has appeared on syndicated television shows; presented at large conferences and retreats; worked with people throughout the United States and internationally; authored books; maintained a website and online community; and offered seminars.

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Bluebook (online)
993 F. Supp. 2d 293, 2014 WL 292460, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-praagh-v-gratton-nyed-2014.