A California federal court entered judgment in favor of Hueston Hennigan clients Kmart Corporation, Sears Holdings Management Corporation, and Risewear, LLC in a trademark action filed by Rise Basketball Skill Development, LLC. The defeated suit sought to disgorge profits and enjoin sales of Kmart's popular “Risewear” line of athleisurewear.
Acting on a motion for summary judgment filed by Hueston Hennigan, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Orrick held that although courts “sparingly grant summary judgment in trademark cases because they are so fact-intensive,” the evidence here tilted so heavily in favor of the defendants as to make summary judgment appropriate.
“There is no evidence that consumers are likely to believe that Risewear was either the source or sponsor of Rise Basketball’s goods, and no plausible reason to think that such evidence exists,” the judge wrote.
Kmart, Sears, and Risewear were represented by Robert N. Klieger and Tristan Favro.
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