Trail Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corporation
| Decision Date | 27 July 1967 |
| Docket Number | No. 23885.,23885. |
| Citation | 381 F.2d 353 |
| Parties | TRAIL CHEVROLET, INC., Luis S. Blanco and Eduardo Escribano, Appellants, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
John D. McKee, Jr., Terry & McKee, Miami, Fla., for appellants.
Herbert L. Nadeau, Shutts & Bowen, Miami, Fla., for appellee.
Before BROWN, Chief Judge, SIMPSON, Circuit Judge, and SUTTLE, District Judge.
Appealed from is a decree for permanent injunction below granted upon motion for summary judgment against appellants (herein "Trail Chevrolet") upon the motion of appellee (herein "GM"). Count One of the complaint was for trade-mark infringement (Title 15, U.S.C. Sec. 1051-1127) brought under the provisions of Title 28, U.S.C. Sec. 1338(a). The second count asserted a substantial and related claim of unfair competition under the dependent jurisdiction of Section 1338(b), Title 28, U.S. Code. The second count also asserted diversity jurisdiction and amount in controversy under Title 28, U.S.C. Sec. 1332, alleging facts which would support a common law theory of unfair competition independently of the Lanham Act jurisdiction.
The district court had previously denied the motion to dismiss, and no answer was on file at the time of the entry of a summary final decree. There was no dispute as to the facts, which were developed mainly upon the discovery depositions of Blanco and Escribano, the individual defendants who were the officers, majority stockholders and dominant figures of the corporate defendant.
The name and distinctive registered mark "Chevrolet" had been registered and used for many years by the Chevrolet Motor Division of GM and its predecessors. There was ample evidence before the trial judge to support his finding that Trail Chevrolet's use of the name "Chevrolet" as used in its advertising and in its display signs was likely to cause confusion and to mislead and deceive the public into accepting and purchasing used automobiles from Trail Chevrolet in the belief that it (the public) was dealing with one of GM's authorized dealers and that the defendants' business was sponsored or connected with, endorsed or supervised by GM. While Trail Chevrolet's business activities as far as the record showed were local in character, they exercised a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce under the holding of this Court in Pure Foods, Inc. v. Minute Maid Corp., 5 Cir. 1954, 214 F.2d 792, (cf. American Auto Ass'n. v....
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Pebble Beach Co. v. Tour 18 I Ltd.
...have more fun at TOUR 18 than at Pebble Beach," relying upon Better Business Bureau, 681 F.2d 397, and Trail Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., 381 F.2d 353, 354 (5th Cir.1967). In Trail Chevrolet, the defendants sold used Chevrolets and repaired Chevrolets, and they could not describ......
-
U.S. Surgical Corp. v. Orris, Inc.
...411 F.2d 350, 352 (9th Cir.1969) (no prohibition in specializing in repair of trademarked automobiles); Trail Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., 381 F.2d 353, 354 (5th Cir.1967) (implicitly recognizing right to repair trademarked automobiles); Volkswagenwerk, AG v. Smith, 471 F.Supp. ......
-
Osawa & Co. v. B & H PHOTO
...as authorized agents). See Prestonettes, Inc. v. Coty, 264 U.S. 359, 44 S.Ct. 350, 68 L.Ed. 731 (1924); Trail Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., 381 F.2d 353 (5 Cir.1967); Chrysler Corp. v. Thayer Plymouth Center, Inc., 303 F.Supp. 543 (C.D.Cal.1969). See generally 3A R. Callman, The ......
-
Victoria's Cyber Secret v. Secret Catal.
...that summary judgment may readily be granted in cases involving violations of the Lanham Act. See Trail Chevrolet, Inc. v. General Motors Corp., 381 F.2d 353 (5th Cir. 1967); Walt Disney World Co. v. Disney Area Acreage, Inc., 316 F.Supp. 285 (S.D.Fla.1970); Blue Cross and Blue Shield Assoc......