Vision Center Northwest Inc v. Vision Value LLC

Filing 182

ORDER granting in part Company ordered to change its URL/web addressand/or take down its website and certify to court that action has been taken. Motion and denying in part all other respects 137 Motion for Order to Show Cause; granting in part - defendant is entitled to information relating to Dr Tavels use of the Vision Values mark from 2005-2007 and denying in part all other respects 151 Motion for Sanctions. Signed by Judge Robert L Miller, Jr on 10/22/09. (kds)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION VISION CENTER NORTHWEST, INC., d/b/a Vision Values by Dr. Tavel, Plaintiff v. VISION VALUE, LLC, d/b/a Eyeglass Express, Defendant ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

CAUSE NO. 3:07-CV-183 RM

OPINION and ORDER The parties and counsel in this case have been disregarding this court's orders, the Seventh Circuit's Standards for Professional Conduct, and Indiana's Rules of Professional Conduct, and it's time the court put a stop to it. Dr. Tavel's motion for order to show cause [docket # 137] is GRANTED IN PART: to the extent the defendant continues to use "vision values" or "vision value" in connection with its web site, the company is ORDERED to change the URL/web address and/or take down its web site within five days of this date and certify to the court that that action has been taken. The motion is DENIED in all other respects. Vision Value's motion for discovery sanctions [docket # 151] is GRANTED IN PART: the defendant is entitled to information relating to Dr. Tavel's use of the

Vision Values mark from 2005-20071, including copies of all advertisements using the mark, together with identification of the stores/market areas where the advertisements appeared; copies of advertisements directed to and used in the South Bend-Mishawaka-Elkhart market area; monthly income statements that would allow a comparison between stores using the mark (including the Elkhart store) of expenses and advertising allotments; and documents (general ledger and journal entries) reflecting expenses incurred for promotion of the mark for all stores using the mark. Dr. Tavel is ORDERED to provide all documents and information specific to those topics to defense counsel within five days of this date and certify to the court that that action has been taken. The motion is DENIED in all other respects. Finally, the parties and counsel are informed that any further attacks on the character of opposing counsel will result in immediate sua sponte imposition of sanctions by the court. SO ORDERED. ENTERED: October 22, 2009

/s/ Robert L. Miller, Jr. Chief Judge United States District Court

Dr. Larry Tavel testified that "since we came up with the name Vision Values and created the name and the logo we have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote that name. . . . Perhaps millions of dollars . . . . That's why we continued to use it every single day since 1991." Tavel Dep., at 34-35.

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