Filed: Mar. 23, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 23, 2016
Summary: NOTICE OF DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE; AND [PROPOSED] ORDER VINCE CHHABRIA , Judge . Pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ("WWE"), by and through its undersigned attorney, hereby files this Notice of Dismissal Without Prejudice and states as follows: 1. WWE filed this action for trademark infringement, counterfeiting and dilution under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051, et seq. , including the Trademark Counterfeit
Summary: NOTICE OF DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE; AND [PROPOSED] ORDER VINCE CHHABRIA , Judge . Pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ("WWE"), by and through its undersigned attorney, hereby files this Notice of Dismissal Without Prejudice and states as follows: 1. WWE filed this action for trademark infringement, counterfeiting and dilution under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. 1051, et seq. , including the Trademark Counterfeiti..
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NOTICE OF DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE; AND [PROPOSED] ORDER
VINCE CHHABRIA, Judge.
Pursuant to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ("WWE"), by and through its undersigned attorney, hereby files this Notice of Dismissal Without Prejudice and states as follows:
1. WWE filed this action for trademark infringement, counterfeiting and dilution under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051, et seq., including the Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984, 15 U.SC. § 1116(d), and related state law claims for trademark infringement and unfair competition occasioned by Defendants' unlawful manufacture, distribution and/or sale of counterfeit merchandise bearing unauthorized copies of WWE's registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks.
2. Pursuant to this Court's March 24, 2015 Temporary Restraining Order, Order for Seizure of Counterfeit Marked Goods and Order to Show Cause Why A Preliminary Injunction Should Not Issue (Docket Number 18) (the "TRO"), WWE filed an injunction bond with the Court in the amount of US $10,000 (Docket Number 20) and enforced the TRO against counterfeiters at its Wrestlemania® 31 events which occurred in the Santa Clara, California area.
3. As reflected in WWE's Verified Amended Complaint and the Supplemental Declaration of Lauren Dienes-Middlen (Docket Number 22), WWE personally served Defendants Dominic Rodriguez, Benjamin Pechetti, Vu Tran and Ibraham Shiheiber with WWE's original Verified Complaint. In addition, WWE mailed the Verified Amended Complaint to each of the named Defendants.
4. None of the named Defendants appeared at the Preliminary Injunction hearing on April 7, 2015.
5. On April 20, 2015, the Court granted a Preliminary Injunction and Order of Seizure, enjoining, among other things, the sale of such counterfeit merchandise and authorizing law enforcement officers to seize such counterfeit merchandise "on the premises or within a five-mile radius of the venues where a WWE live event occurs during the duration of this Order." Docket Number 24.
6. On June 1, 2015, Robert Kane, Esq. entered his appearance as counsel for Dominic Rodriguez, Benjamin Pechetti, and Vu Tran. Docket Number 33. None of those defendants served an answer or otherwise responded to the Amended Complaint.
7. Instead, the parties engage in settlement discussions which resulted in a Court-approved Stipulation of Dismissal without prejudice as to those defendants. Docket Number 41.
8. As reflected in the approved stipulation, however, "all other claims in this lawsuit that are not between WWE and DOMINIC ANGEL RODRIGUEZ, VU TRUONG TRAN, and BENJAMIN ADHAM PECHETTI shall be unaffected by this stipulation and shall remain in full force." Id.
9. Defendant Ibraham Shiheiber has not entered an appearance in this action or responded to WWE's Complaint.
10. Since the Court issued the Preliminary Injunction and Seizure Order, WWE has encountered counterfeiters at its 2015-2016 live events. However, other than the named Defendants already identified to the Court, no additional Defendants have been successfully served.
11. Therefore, in the interest of judicial economy, WWE files this Notice of Dismissal Without Prejudice to refiling and dismisses its claims set forth in the Amended Compliant pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i). WWE also requests dismissal of the aforementioned injunction Bond.
[PROPOSED] ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Plaintiff in the above styled and number cause of action has filed a Notice of Dismissal Without Prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i). Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that this case is DISMISSED without prejudice. It is further ORDERED that Bond Number 106157318 filed on March 25, 2015 is hereby DISMISSED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
