Redken Laboratories, Inc. v. Levin

Citation843 F.2d 226
Decision Date16 May 1988
Docket NumberNo. 87-1363,87-1363
Parties, 25 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 87 REDKEN LABORATORIES, INC., Petitioner-Appellee, v. Herb LEVIN d/b/a Levin Beauty Supply and Levin Beauty Supply, Inc., a Michigan corporation, Respondents-Appellants.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

Alex Rhodes (argued), Rhodes & Boller, Southfield, Mich., for respondents-appellants.

Grady Avant, Jr. (argued), Dickinson, Wright, Moon, VanDusen & Freeman, Detroit, Mich., Jerry L. Johnson, for petitioner-appellee.

Before KEITH, MARTIN and RYAN, Circuit Judges.

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Herb Levin, who does business as Levin Beauty Supply and Levin Beauty Supply, Inc., appeals an order prohibiting the sale of trademarked products and requiring Levin to pay Redken Laboratories, Inc. $25,000 in damages for violation of a permanent injunction, attorneys fees incurred by Redken in obtaining the order, and further requiring Levin to post a $25,000 bond for the benefit of Redken. The bond is conditioned upon Levin's future compliance with the permanent injunction.

Levin argues on appeal that the district court committed error when it: (1) refused to admit into evidence Levin's "sales slips;" (2) admitted into evidence Redken's standard distributor agreement and professional services policy statement; (3) ruled that Levin's refusal to identify Redken distributors who had supplied Levin with Redken products was relevant; (4) decided to impose sanctions; and (5) imposed sanctions that were excessive and contrary to law. After a review of the relevant facts, we will address these contentions in order.

This case has its origins in 1976 when Redken sued Levin for unauthorized sales of Redken products. At that time, Redken also sought a permanent injunction prohibiting Levin from selling Redken products. Prior to that date, Redken had granted to Levin a contractual right to sell its products. These products, which were generally sold only in barber shops or beauty parlors, carried the Redken trademark and were properly registered under federal trademark laws. Redken could exercise complete control as to sales of these products. Furthermore, Redken could restrict its distributors from selling particular products to certain types of customers.

On May 24, 1977, Levin and Redken stipulated that all the facts in Redken's first claim against Levin were true. These facts were incorporated into the final judgment entered by the district court on June 10, 1977.

The stipulated Order stated that Levin had engaged in unfair competition by selling Redken "For Professional Use Only" products to the general public. The district court permanently enjoined Levin from advertising, offering for sale, or selling such products.

On October 12, 1977, Levin was found by the district court to have violated the permanent injunction. The court noted at that time that Redken not only had legitimate business reasons to seek the enforcement of the injunction, but they also had reasonable concerns that they could be exposed to potential liability with the possible misuse of the product by nonprofessionals. As a result, Levin was ordered to post a bond of $25,000 for the benefit of Redken. The bond was "conditioned upon his [Levin's] not in the future violating the terms of this injunction or selling any Redken 'Professional Use Only' products."

Slightly more than one year later, Levin successfully moved the district court for the return of the bond. On January 10, 1979, the district court granted Levin's motion, but warned Levin that:

if there was any repetition of that [violation of the permanent injunction] you could expect to be dealt with very harshly by this court insofar as contempt citations because you had your one bite of the apple, and anything further would be construed as complete and purposeful and willful disregard and disdain of the lawful orders of this court and will be dealt with accordingly.

Despite the stern advice of the district court, Levin again violated the injunction in January 1987. On January 6, 1987, Robert D. Allen, Contract Compliance Manager for Redken, visited two stores owned by Levin. At the Levin Beauty Supply, Allen found Redken "For Professional Use Only" products for sale to the general public and was able to purchase four such products. That same day, Allen visited Levin Beauty Supply Outlet in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where he also found Redken "For Professional Use Only" products for sale to the general public. He again purchased four such products.

Because of what Allen had found, Redken petitioned the district court for an order to show cause as to why Levin should not again be held in contempt for violation of the permanent injunction. Redken's petition was granted and on March 25, 1987, a show cause hearing was held. Levin did not dispute that they had sold "For Professional Use Only" products in violation of the injunction. Rather, Levin attempted to argue that the products appeared on their shelves inadvertently because of the negligence of Redken distributors who had incorrectly shipped to Levin the wrong products. The district court apparently disbelieved Levin's explanation and found Levin to have violated the permanent injunction and to be in contempt. Redken was awarded $25,000 in damages, plus its expenses in actual attorney's fees associated with obtaining the Order. Levin was also required to again post a $25,000 bond for the benefit of Redken, conditioned upon Levin's future compliance with the permanent injunction.

Before we turn to the assignments of error raised by Levin in this appeal, we observe that this is not a normal case under Rule 65 where a party was charged with violating an injunction of which he was unaware. Here, Redken early on obtained an injunction because of Levin's unauthorized sales of Redken trademarked and registered products. Levin knew of the injunction and yet continued to...

To continue reading

Request your trial
49 cases
  • Brodersen v. Sioux Valley Memorial Hosp., C 93-4011.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of West Virginia
    • September 19, 1995
    ...See, e.g., Igo v. Coachmen Indus., Inc., 938 F.2d 650, 658 (6th Cir.1991) (quoting these requirements from Redken Labs, Inc. v. Levin, 843 F.2d 226, 229 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 852, 109 S.Ct. 137, 102 L.Ed.2d 110 (1988)); In re Custodian of Records of Variety Distrib., Inc., ......
  • U.S. v. Atlas Lederer Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio
    • September 12, 2001
    ...by a person with knowledge of the transaction or from information transmitted by a person with knowledge." Redken Laboratories, Inc. v. Levin, 843 F.2d 226, 229 (6th Cir.1988). In their Memorandum, Certain Parties contend that the Movants have failed to lay a proper foundation to establish ......
  • Big O Tires, Inc. v. Bigfoot 4×4, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Colorado
    • September 26, 2001
    ......." These injunctions must comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65. See generally Redken Labs., Inc. v. Levin, 843 F.2d 226, 228 (6th Cir.1988). A preliminary injunction is an equitable remedy that invokes the sound discretion of the district court. See Lundgrin......
  • U.S.A. v. Salgado
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • September 19, 2000
    ...transmitted by a person with knowledge. United States v. Weinstock, 153 F.3d 272, 276 (6th Cir. 1998)(quoting Redken Laboratories, Inc. v. Levin, 843 F.2d 226, 229 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 852 (1988)). This information must be presented through "the testimony of the custodian or o......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT