Rush v. Hillside Buffalo, LLC, --- F.Supp.3d ----, 2018 WL
2999905, No. 18-CV-00653 EAW (W.D.N.Y. Jun. 15, 2018)
Rush, pro se, alleged that he owned a registered trademark
for “Crash-a-Rama,” an event “featuring men and women running old junk cars in
exciting and entertaining events.” He alleged that he operated Crash-A-Rama at
the Holland International Speedway for eighteen years. Hillside Buffalo
recently acquired the Speedway, and offered their own “Crash-O-Rama” event. The
court declined to issue a TRO enjoining it (it was scheduled for the day after
the opinion issued) but allowed claims to proceed.
Irreparable harm: conclusory statements about irreparable
harm aren’t enough without proof that monetary damages wouldn’t be a sufficient
remedy. It is true that “[i]rreparable
harm ‘exists in a trademark case when the party seeking the injunction shows
that it will lose control over the reputation of its trademark pending trial,’
because loss of control over one’s reputation is neither ‘calculable nor
precisely compensable.’” Still, “conclusory statements of loss of reputation
will not justify an irreparable harm finding.” Notably, Rush sought damages as
compensation. When there’s only been one
event, it was unclear why money damages couldn’t be assessed based upon the
number and price of the tickets and concessions sold, the number of patrons
diverted, or any other revenue.
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