The Gillette Company v. BK Gifts et al

Filing 57

Order: Motions to dismiss (Doc. 44 ) and for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 45 ) be, and the same hereby are overruled; and Clerk to note entry by default against defendant Zilo Stores; plaintiff to file such proposed order(s) as it may deem appropriate for entry of judgment, including injunctive relief, against defaulted defendant; and The Clerk shall schedule a telephonic status/scheduling conference. (Re: 48 , 44 , 45 ). Judge James G. Carr on 12/5/14. (C,D)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION

The Gillette Company,

Case No. 3:13CV2241

Plaintiff
v.

ORDER

BK Gifts, et al.,
Defendant

This is a patent infringement suit in which the remaining defendants are Zilo Stores (as to
which plaintiff is entitled to entry of judgment by default) and its alleged principal, Francis SaintArnaud, who is proceeding pro se.
Pending St.-Arnaud’s motions to dismiss the complaint (Doc. 44) and for partial summary
judgment. (Doc. 45). Neither has any merit and shall be denied.
After St.-Arnaud filed his motion to dismiss, the plaintiff timely filed an amended amended
complaint.
St.-Arnaud argues that I should not allow the amended complaint to be filed, and should
dismiss the original complaint as insufficient on its face to state a claim against him personally. This
is so, he claims, because plaintiff has not alleged adequately that it can pierce the corporate veil
between him and Zilo Stores.
I disagree: the original and amended complaints both sufficiently state a claim in support of
veil-piercing. They detail, to as fulsome an extent as any party reasonably can, the apparent inter-

twining between the corporation and its principal. Whether the facts bear this out will depend on
what discovery discloses.
St.-Arnaud also argues in his summary judgment motion that plaintiff has not put him
sufficiently on actual notice of his apparent infringing conduct. Again, I disagree. As of the time it
filed its complaint, and certainly no later than the date of filing of its amended complaint, St.-Arnaud
was more than adequately informed about plaintiff’s asserted rights and their source.
It is, accordingly,
ORDERED THAT:
1.

Motions to dismiss (Doc. 44) and for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 45) be, and
the same hereby are overruled; and

2.

Clerk to note entry by default against defendant Zilo Stores; plaintiff to file such
proposed order(s) as it may deem appropriate for entry of judgment, including
injunctive relief, against defaulted defendant; and

3.

The Clerk shall schedule a telephonic status/scheduling conference.

So ordered.
/s/ James G. Carr
Sr. U.S. District Judge