Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes & of Malta v. Florida Priory of Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem

• Decision Date: 29 September 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 09–81008–CIV.
• Citation: 816 F.Supp.2d 1290,23 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 69
• Parties: SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA, Plaintiff, v. The FLORIDA PRIORY OF KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS OF the SOVEREIGN ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF MALTA, The ECUMENICAL ORDER, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

23 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 69

816 F.Supp.2d 1290

SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA, Plaintiff,

v.The FLORIDA PRIORY OF KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS OF the SOVEREIGN ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, KNIGHTS OF MALTA, The ECUMENICAL ORDER, Defendant.

Case No. 09–81008–CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Sept. 29, 2011.

Jose Felix Diaz, Luis Miguel O'Naghten, Akerman Senterfitt, Miami, FL, Michael K. Grace, Grace & Grace LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiff.

Joseph Rodman Steele, Jr., Duane Morris LLP, Boca Raton, FL, Brian W. Toth, Holland & Knight, Miami, FL, Matthew Zvi Zimmerman, Holland & Knight, West Palm Beach, FL, Thomas W. Brooke, Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

KENNETH L. RYSKAMP, District Judge.

THE COURT conducted a bench trial of this matter from February 28, 2011–March 2, 2011 and issues the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT

A. Introduction

Plaintiff, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (“SMOM”) is a Catholic, non-profit international organization with associations in over 45 countries, including several in the United States. Defendant, The Florida Priory of Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, the Ecumenical Order (“Florida Priory”), an ecumenical Christian organization, is associated with an international ecumenical association known as Knights Hospitallers of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, the Ecumenical Order (“Ecumenical Order”). The Florida Priory is a Florida non-profit corporation located in West Palm Beach, Florida.

SMOM brings this action for trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices, alleging that the Florida Priory falsely represents itself as having a connection with SMOM. SMOM claims that the Florida Priory's use of certain names and use of a certain unregistered trademark is likely to cause confusion among consumers. The Florida Priory challenges the basis under which SMOM obtained several of SMOM's federal trademark registrations and seeks their cancellation. The Florida Priory also questions whether SMOM's names and unregistered symbol are protectable as registered or unregistered trademarks.

B. SMOM and the Florida Priory's Shared History

SMOM and the Florida Priory each trace their histories to the late eleventh century, when a lay religious Order ¹ was founded in Jerusalem to run a hospice for Christian pilgrims. Pope Paschal II issued a Bull in 1133 that placed the hospice under the aegis of the Catholic Church. The Order performed both charitable and militaristic functions, offering care for pilgrims, the sick and the needy and undertaking the military defense of Christian territories. The Order went by several names, including “Knights Hospitaller,” which connoted the Order's military and charitable missions, the “Knights of St. John,” after St. John the Baptist, the Order's patron saint, and the “Knights of Jerusalem,” after the location of the Order's founding. The St. John of Acre monastery, the last foothold of Christianity in the Holy Land, fell in 1291, forcing the Order to move to Cyprus. The Order took possession of Rhodes in 1310 and began calling itself the “Knights of Rhodes.” It amassed a powerful navy and saw numerous military victories, but eventually surrendered to Sultan Suliman the Magnificent on January 1, 1523. The Order was without territory until 1530, when Roman Emperor Charles V granted it the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino and the city of Tripoli. The Order has since been known as the “Knights of Malta.” Napoleon drove the Order from Malta in 1798, after which the knights scattered, with some returning to their homelands and others relocating to Russia. The Order subsequently ceased all military functions and focused exclusively on charitable work.²

C. SMOM's History and Trademark Registrations

Czar Paul I of Russia allowed the establishment of a Catholic Order in Russia. (Vann Trscpt., 393.) SMOM claims this Order as its predecessor. The Czar, who was Russian Orthodox, also created a non-Catholic Order, making himself Grand Master thereof. ( Id., 390; Papanicolau Trscpt., 551.) The Florida Priory claims this Order as its predecessor. SMOM disputes that Czar Paul I was a legitimate Grand Master because the Pope never confirmed the Czar as such. (Vann Trscpt., 390.) SMOM also objects to the Czar's position as Grand Master because the Czar was not Catholic, was not celibate and had not been a member of SMOM for the required number of years. ( Id. 390–91.) Russian nobles assassinated Czar Paul I in 1801, after which his son, Alexander, became Czar. ( Id., 392.) Czar Alexander never took the office of Grand Master and, in 1810, took away both Orders' lands. ( Id., 393–94.)

The Russian Orders, as well as Orders in other European countries, elected Fra' Giovanni Battista Tomassi as Grand Master in 1803. The Pope confirmed this election. ( Id., 396.) The current Grand Master is Fra' Matthew Festing, who took office in 2008. (Pl. Ex. 126.)

In 1926, an American Association of SMOM was established in New York, followed by a Western Association in 1953 in San Francisco and a Federal Association in 1974 in Washington, D.C. SMOM has obtained federal service mark registrations for a number of marks. These registrations are as follows:

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                ¦Reg.  ¦                ¦                     ¦1st Use ¦Filing  ¦Registration¦
                ¦No.   ¦Mark            ¦Services             ¦in      ¦Date    ¦Date        ¦
                ¦      ¦                ¦                     ¦Commerce¦        ¦            ¦
                +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                

                            Charitable services
                                            namely fundraising for
                                            and providing grants
                                            to domestic and
                          shield and cross  international          12/31/              12/30/
                2,799,898 symbol 3          humanitarian,          1926      9/3/2002  2003
                                            hospitaller, medical
                                            religious, and
                                            diplomatic causes, in
                                            International Class
                                            036
                                            Charitable services
                                            namely, fundraising
                                            for and providing
                                            grants to domestic and
                                            international          12/31/              11/18/
                2,783,934 KNIGHTS OF MALTA  humanitarian,          1926      9/3/2002  2003
                                            hospitaller, medical
                                            religious, and
                                            diplomatic causes, in
                                            International Class
                                            036
                                            Charitable services
                                            namely, fundraising
                          SOVEREIGN         for and providing
                          MILITARY          grants to domestic and
                          HOSPITALLER ORDER international          12/31/              11/18/
                2,783,933 OF ST. JOHN OF    humanitarian,          1926      9/3/2002  2003
                          JERUSALEM OF      hospitaller, medical
                          RHODES AND OF     religious, and
                          MALTA             diplomatic causes, in
                                            International Class
                                            036
                                            Charitable services,
                                            namely, fundraising
                                            for and providing
                                            grants to domestic and
                          HOSPITALLERS OF   international                    11/21/
                2,915,824 ST. JOHN OF       humanitarian,          4/28/1927 2003      1/4/2005
                          JERUSALEM         hospitaller, medical,
                                            religious, and
                                            diplomatic causes, in
                                            International Class
                                            036
                                            Charitable services,
                                            namely, fundraising
                                            for and providing
                                            grants to domestic and
                          ORDER OF ST. JOHN international                    11/21/
                3,056,803 OF JERUSALEM      humanitarian,          4/28/1927 2003      2/7/2006
                                            hospitaller, medical,
                                            religious, and
                                            diplomatic causes, in
                                            International Class
                                            036
                

Dean Francis Pace, Esq., one of SMOM's knights, signed the applications for these registrations as both attorney of record and as declarant for SMOM. SMOM also uses an unregistered mark that consists of a crown atop an open, fur-lined mantle sable. An ordinary cross superimposed over a Maltese cross sits inside the mantle sable. A chain winds its way through the Maltese cross and encircles the ordinary cross. (Amended Complaint, Ex. 2.) ⁴

D. The Florida Priory's History and Trademark Registration

The Florida Priory's version of historical events differs from SMOM's. As noted, after the 1798 expulsion from Malta, the knights scattered, with some returning to their homelands and some migrating to Russia. The knights who returned to their homelands established independent Orders according to their geopolitical locations and religious persuasions. Meanwhile in Russia, Czar Paul I established two priories of the Order, the Polish Grand Priory for Catholics and the Russian Grand Priory for Russian and Greek Orthodox individuals. (Papanicolau Trscpt., 544.) The Florida Priory claims that the knights in Russia elected Czar Paul I Grand Master and that the Pope confirmed this election. ( Id., 544–46.) Czar...