Capital One Bank USA NA v. Carefree Debt Inc et al

Filing 125

ORDER granting 124 Motion for Permanent Injunction, granting a permanent injunction against defendant Susan Azeredo and dismissing all remaining claims against defendant Azeredo with prejudice. Signed by Honorable Joseph F Anderson, Jr on 07/09/2010.(bshr, )

C a p i t a l One Bank USA NA v. Carefree Debt Inc et al

D o c . 125

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT F O R THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA R O C K HILL DIVISION C A P IT A L ONE BANK (USA), N.A., P l a in tif f , v. C A R E F R E E DEBT, INC. A/K/A C D I, FEDERAL DEBT RELIEF S Y S T E M S , CREDIT C O L L E C T IO N S DEFENSE N E T W O R K , ELIZABETH S A L A Z A R , and SUZAN AZEREDO, D e f e n d a n ts . ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) C / A No. 0:08-2274-JFA

ORDER

T h is matter is before the court by consent of Plaintiff Capital One Bank (U S A ), N.A. ("Capital One") and Defendant Suzan Azeredo ("Azeredo").1 Capital O n e and Azeredo consent to the entry of a permanent injunction against Azeredo a s set forth below. Capital One and Azeredo also consent to dismissal of all

re m a in in g claims against Azeredo. I. L eg al Standard T h e district court may grant permanent injunctive relief where a plaintiff e sta b lish e s: (1) that it has suffered an irreparable injury; (2) that remedies available a t law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury; (3 ) that considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a r e m e d y in equity is warranted; and (4) that the public interest would not be d is s e rv e d by a permanent injunction. Palmetto Conservation Found. v. Smith, 642 F . Supp.2d 518, 531 (D.S.C. 2009)(citing eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange, LLC, 547

1 Azaredo is the only defendant not in default. The court has previously issued a permanent in j u n c tio n as to all defendants in default. (Doc. No. 113.) A damages hearing has been scheduled as to the d e f e n d a n t s in default for August 30, 2010. (Doc. No. 120.)

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U .S . 388, 391 (2006)).

Furthermore, the Lanham Act allows the owner of a

re g is te re d trademark whose rights have been knowingly and intentionally violated to obtain injunctive relief to prevent further violations. 15 U.S.C. § 1116 (1982). On June 1, 2010 this court issued a permanent injunction against D e f e n d a n ts Carefree Debt, Inc. a/k/a CDI, Federal Debt Relief Systems and Credit C o llec tio n Defense Network. (Doc. No. 113). As acknowledged in her Answer to C a p ita l One's complaint, Azeredo was formerly employed by Defendant Care Free D e b t, Inc. (Doc. No. 36). Azeredo asserts that she was not aware of any

f ra u d u le n t scheme being carried out by her employer, and also asserts that she re sig n e d from Care Free Debt after she was instructed to falsely notarize d o c u m e n ts for the company. Azeredo acknowledges and agrees that Capital One is entitled to protect its valuable trademark and business relationships, and c o n se n ts to be permanently enjoined from participating in any activity intended or d e s i g n e d to harm Capital One. A balancing of the relative hardships between C a p i ta l One and Azeredo weighs in favor of Capital One. The public interest also s u p p o rts the issuance of an injunction against Azeredo. II. P e rm a n e n t Injunction T h e defendant Suzan Azeredo is permanently enjoined from engaging in a n y of the following activities: a. P u b lis h in g written or oral false, fraudulent, materially misleading or

u n s u b s ta n tia te d declarations that any Capital One account holder has satisfied or c lo se d his/her Capital One consumer credit account; b. P u b lis h in g any written or oral communications which may lead the

re c ip ie n t of such communication to believe that Azeredo is authorized to take any a c tio n or make any representation on behalf of Capital One;

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c.

P u b lis h in g any written or oral communications which may lead the

re c ip ie n t of such communication to believe that Capital One, or its authorized a g e n ts or assigns, is the publisher of such communications; d. P u b lis h in g any written or oral communications which may lead the

re c ip i e n t of such communication to believe that Capital One authorized the c o m m u n ic a tio n s to be made on behalf of Capital One; e. R e p ro d u c in g , imitating, incorporating, copying, disseminating,

d i str ib u tin g or publishing in any form any of Capital One's trademarks, logos, slo g a n s, letterhead or trade dress. This prohibition includes any use of colorable im ita tio n s of Capital One's registered trademarks which are likely to cause c o n f u sio n , or to cause mistake, or deceive; f. C o n ta c tin g , communicating with, and/or representing any other

p e rs o n concerning a Capital One account, unless such contact or communication c o n c ern s Azeredo's own Capital One account; and g. o f law. Any violation of this injunction may be enforced by proceedings to punish f o r contempt, or otherwise, in this District Court, or by any other United States d is tric t court in whose jurisdiction Azeredo may be found. See 15 U.S.C. § 1116 (19 8 2 ). III. D is m is s a l of Remaining Claims E x ce p t as set forth in this order, all remaining claims against Azeredo are d is m is s e d with prejudice. E n g a g in g in any conduct which constitutes the unauthorized practice

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

Ju ly 9, 2010 C o lu m b ia , South Carolina

J o s e p h F. Anderson, Jr. U n ite d States District Judge

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