Wolf Bros. & Co. v. Hamilton-Brown Shoe Co.

206 F. 611, 124 C.C.A. 409, 1913 U.S. App. LEXIS 1578
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedMay 20, 1913
DocketNo. 3,758
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 206 F. 611 (Wolf Bros. & Co. v. Hamilton-Brown Shoe Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wolf Bros. & Co. v. Hamilton-Brown Shoe Co., 206 F. 611, 124 C.C.A. 409, 1913 U.S. App. LEXIS 1578 (8th Cir. 1913).

Opinions

VAN VALKENBURGH, District Judge.

Appellant Wolf Bros. & Co., complainant below, is a corporation engaged in the manufacture of women’s shoes at Cincinnati, Ohio. Appellee is a corporation and a large manufacturer and jobber of shoes at St. Louis, Mo. Appellant and its predecessors manufactured and sold a woman’s shoe which it called “The American Girl.” This name was registered as a trade-mark. ■ Some years later the appellee adopted and registered as a trade-mark the term “American Lady,” and manufactured, advertised, and sold women’s shoes under that name. January 29, 1906, appellant filed its bill charging the appellee with infringing its said [613]*613trade-mark "The American Girl,” and with unfair trade by the use of the name “American Lady,” together with certain catch-phrases and numerals theretofore adopted and used by appellant, and praying an injunction and accounting. Proofs were taken, and upon the hearing the Circuit Court dismissed appellant’s bill, and the case was brought to this court on appeal.

Upon consideration thereof this court held that the term “The American Girl” was not the subject of valid trade-mark, but that the record did disclose conduct on the part of appellee amounting to unfair competition in trade. Accordingly the decree was reversed, with directions to the Circuit Court to enter a decree “enjoining the defendant from using the name ‘American 1 ,ady,’ as applied to its shoes for women, when not accompanied with other matter clearly indicating that such shoes are of its own manufacture, and therefore not of complainant’s, and from using in connection with such name, as applied to its shoes for women, the numerals mentioned or the catchphrase ‘With the character of the woman,’ or any other phrase in simulation of the phrase ‘A shoe as good as its name’ also granting an accounting, which was limited to the time since the commencement of the suit. The opinion.of this court is found in 165 Fed. 413, 91 C. C. A. 363. The facts upon which it was based are stated therein, and will not be unnecessarily repeated here.

Pursuant to the direction of this court, the Circuit Court on November 15, 1909, entered the following decree:

"The defendant, Iiamilton-Hrown Slioo Company, its servants, agents, officers, and employes, are perpetually enjoined from using the name ‘The American Rady,’ as applied to its shoes for women, when not accompanied with other matter clearly indicating that such shoes are of its own manufacture, and therefore not. of the manufacture of the plaintiff, Wolf Bros. & Co., and from using in connection with such name, as applied to its shoes for women, the numerals 40.‘J, 404, 40T, 408, or 397, or the catch-phrase 'With the character of the woman’ or any other phrase in simulation of the phrase ‘A shoe as good as its name.’ The costs up to and including the entry of this decree are adjudged against the defendant, and execution therefor is awarded. This case is referred to H. H. Denison, Esq., as master, upon the evidence already taken in this case, and the exhibits in evidence-in this case, and such further evidence as may be offered before the master by the parties to this action, to ascertain and report the damages, since the commencement of this suit, which the plaintiff has suffered, and the profits, since the commencement of this suit, for which the defendant may be liable, said accounting of damages and profits to be limited to shoes sold by the defendant since the filing1 of the bill in this case, and which were marked with the name ‘The American Lady,’ and not accompanied with any other matter clearly indicating that such shoes were of the manufacture of the JIamilton-Brow'n Shoe Company.”

Extended proofs were taken before the master. In his report he finds that during the period to which the accounting was limited ap-pellee sold American Eady shoes, which, because of differences in marking, are divided into three classes:

Class 1. 974,016 pairs of shoes which bore no impression or distinguishing mark, except the words “American Lady” stamped upon the sole with a metal die. The profits upon these were found to be $254,401.72.

[614]*614Class 2. 961,607 pairs of shoes marked as follows: The words “Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company” in belt form, with the words “American Lady” in the center, stamped upon the sole of each shoe, and in the top facing no mark, except, perhaps, in some cases, the name of a retail dealer in the facing of one shoe. The profits upon these to appellee were found to be $190,909.83.

Class 3. 593,872 pairs of shoes marked as follows: Upon the sole the same stamping as in class 2, and in the top facing of one shoe the name “American Lady” and the words “Hamilton-Brown Shoe Company” in belt form surrounding the word “Makers.” The profits upon these to appellee were found to be $132,740.77.

The master recommended that a judgment be entered in favor of appellant in the sum of the profits accruing from the first two classes, aggregating $445,311.55. For the profits accruing from the third class he held that appellant was not entitled to recover under the opinion of this court and the decree entered in accordance therewith. Both parties filed numerous exceptions. Upon hearing below the court overruled complainant’s exceptions, sustained defendant’s exceptions, adjudged a recovery of $1 nominal damages against defendant, and taxed the costs against complainant.

The contentions of appellant are: ' First, that a decree should have been rendered in its favor upon the first two classes of shoes sold, as recommended by the master; second, that that decree should have included the profits upon the third class of Arperican Lady shoes sold, which was denied by the master; third, that the master erred in allowing too large credits to the expense of producing and selling the American Lady shoes, whereby appellee’s net profits were improperly diminished.

Defendant, appellee, contends: First, that four elements must be made manifest in appellant’s case before it can be entitled to recover, a failure of proof in any one of which constituent grounds must result in a failure in judgment: (a) A design to defraud; (b) the adoption of means reasonably calculated to make the design effective; (c) that the design and means were effective; (d) reasonably certain injury to complainant — material damage. Second, that a different rule in the assessment of damages prevails in cases of unfair competition from that obtaining in those involving strict trade-mark; that ip the latter a property right is taken, and the infringer must respond for the profits upon all goods sold through an unauthorized use of the mark; that in the former it must be shown that actual damages have accrued from loss of profits diverted. Third, that in this case the.name “American Lady,” as applied to the shoes sold, was actually accompanied with other matter clearly indicating that such shoes were of defendant’s own manufacture, and therefore not of complainant’s. Fourth, that the master adopted an erroneous method of computing the items of expense for which appellee should have received credit in the manufacture and sale of American Lady shoes, whereby the net profits arrived at were unduly increased. These contentions will be considered in their order.

[615]*615[1] 1. With respect to elements “a” and “b,” this court, in directing an accounting on the former appeal, found that there was a design to defraud and that the means adopted were reasonably calculated to make that design effective.

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Bluebook (online)
206 F. 611, 124 C.C.A. 409, 1913 U.S. App. LEXIS 1578, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wolf-bros-co-v-hamilton-brown-shoe-co-ca8-1913.