Confidential
Settlement – $40,000Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Santa Monica
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Glenn T. Litwak
(Law Offices of Glenn T. Litwak)
Defendant
Facts
Since 1980, the plaintiff corporation has been doing business under the name of "X**** Entertainment" with an office in Los Angeles. The plaintiff is in the business of producing and distributing independent films and televison worldwide. The defendant corporation, "X**** Pictures International," is a Canadian corporation with an office in Los Angeles. The defendant corporation also markets films in various international film markets, including that one Cannes, France. The individual defendant is the chairman and CEO of the defendant corporation. In late 1998, the plaintiff corporation became aware, from industry publications, that a new startup corporation, the defendant corporation, was using the same name as the plaintiff corporation and was involved in the same business activities. The plaintiff corporation claimed it was contacted by numerous people in the entertainment industry and the trade publications, and that it had to defend itself against allegations of misconduct by the defendant corporation. The plaintiff also claimed that while attending the American Film Market (AFM), an international market where buyers come to license film product, the similar names caused confusion, and that the confusion was exacerbated because both the plaintiff corporation and the defendant corporation had suites in the same hotel at the AFM. The plaintiff corporation and its related affiliate brought this action against the defendant corporation and its CEO based on unfair competition and interference with prospective economic advantage theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiffs made a settlement demand for $65,000. The defendants made a settlement offer of $10,000.
Damages
The plaintiffs sought in excess of $100,000 in damages, plus declaratory relief, an accounting and a permanent injunction. The plaintiffs also sought, in the interim, a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.
Other Information
The settlement was reached approximately five months after the case was filed. On March 17, 1999, the plaintiffs obtained a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.
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