Guild Inc. v. J.C. Penney Corporation Inc.
Published: Aug. 24, 2004 | Result Date: May 21, 2004 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: CV033001RGK Verdict – $1,410,200
Judge
Court
USDC Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Mark B. Wilson
(Klein & Wilson)
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Don Gusarson
(technical)
Defendant
John Tomlinson
(technical)
Facts
The plaintiff is a clothing designer and manufacturer. The defendant is one of the largest retailers in the country. The parties had done business for over 50 years. The plaintiff claimed that each season, the defendant asked the plaintiff to design clothing for various clothing designs and that if the defendant liked the lines, it would award the plaintiff a contract to manufacture the clothing. The plaintiff alleged that the plaintiff asked the defendant to design a tank top line for the summer 2001 Arizona Jean Company label. The plaintiff designed various tank tops and initially the plaintiff said it liked them. Then, the defendant told the plaintiff it would not be awarded the manufacturing contract. Approximately six months later, the plaintiff discovered that the defendant was selling tank tops with the plaintiff's designs on them.
Settlement Discussions
The defendant offered $25,000.
Result
The jury awarded the plaintiff $632,711 on the breach of contract claim and $965,714 on the copyright claim. The court determined that the jury had awarded duplicate damages on the copyright claim and reduced it to $600,332. The total judgment was for $1,233,044 plus prejudgment interest on the contract claim in the amount of $177,153 for a total of $1,410,197 plus costs.
Deliberation
three hours
Poll
unanimous
Length
three days
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