GET LUCKY Brand Has Good Fortune at Trial against Liz Claiborne dba Lucky Brand

A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York returned a $580,000 verdict in favor of Miami-based Marcel Fashion Group Inc. and the GET LUCKY line of apparel following a federal trademark infringement trial against New York-based Liz Claiborne Inc. The case was tried before Judge Laura Taylor Swain.  GET LUCKY was in fact the counterclaimant, having been sued by Lucky Brand first. 

In the verdict, which followed five days of trial, jurors found that Liz Claiborne and Lucky Brand sold garments that infringed the "GET LUCKY" trademark owned by Marcel Fashion, owner of GET LUCKY. The jury also found that the companies' infringement amounted to unfair competition under federal law. The jury awarded $300,000 in actual damages and punitive damages of $280,000.

Lucky Brand originally sued Marcel Fashion and its licensee Ally Apparel for trademark infringement in 2005, but evidence showed that Marcel Fashion had registered and used the trademark "GET LUCKY" years before Lucky Brand was even formed. Last year, the Court sanctioned Lucky Brand, represented by Greenberg Traurig, for its repeated discovery violations and awarded partial summary judgment on some of Marcel's trademark counterclaims and breach of a 2003 settlement agreement with Marcel Fashion. McCool Smith represented the GET LUCKY brand owners.  The case is Lucky Brand Dungarees Inc., et al. v. Ally Apparel Resources LLC, USDC SDNY.  Case No. 1:2005cv067.