In a trademark opinion yesterday, Judge Koeltl granted judgment following a bench trial in favor of a Dutch company, Schutte, that makes “bag closures” — the “small plastic closures that are used to close bags of pastries, bread, and fruit.” Schutte sought to cancel the trademark protection of the dominant U.S. maker of bag closures, Kwik Lok. Here are the two products side by side (Schutte on the left, Kwik Lok on the right):
Bench Trials
Judge Torres: Hurricane Sandy Was Unforeseeable “Act of God”
In an opinion dated Monday, Judge Torres ruled, after a bench trial, that a shipping company was not liable for the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to 211 shipping containers that were sitting in the New York Container Terminal and that were filled with Lord & Taylor sweaters and cardigans. The controlling question was whether the storm was an “Act of God,” which, at least legally speaking, turns on whether the scope of the storm was foreseeable enough for the defendant to have prevented the damage. Judge Torres answered the question “no,” because accurate predictions about the size of the storm surge did not materialize until it was too late:
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Judge Abrams: Boxer Entitled to Injunction Over Heavyweight Title Rematch
In an entertaining opinion Friday, Judge Abrams granted heavyweight boxer Fres Oquendo $775,000 and injunctive relief against a German promotional firm referred to as Terek, which failed to pay Oquendo his fill purse after a WBA world heavyweight tile match in Chechnya against Ruslan Chagaev. Oquendo lost the fight and, under the parties’ contract, was entitled to a rematch. Judge Abrams rejected Terek’s primary defense — that the contract was unenforceable — and, in addition to awarding Oquendo his payment shortfall, enjoined Terek from promoting any bout for Chagaev within the next 18 months unless it first scheduled the promised rematch. She explained that an injunction was appropriate in these circumstances because of the unique nature of a title fight:
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