PITTSBURGH — A restaurant is suing James T. Thomas, t/d/b/a No Huddle Café and Black-N-Gold Cheesecake Co. LLC, t/d/b/a No Huddle Café, citing alleged common law trademark infringement, unfair competition, and violations of the Pennsylvania Trademark Act.
The Huddle Inc. (THI) filed a complaint on Oct. 19 in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County against the defendants, alleging they are using the THI trademark in a manner that is confusingly similar in design and wording to THI's mark.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that between Sept. 18 and Oct. 4, defendants used the exact name as THI, and from approximately Oct. 4 to present, defendants have used the name No Huddle Café, which includes the THI trademark in a manner that is confusingly similar in design and wording to THI's mark.
The plaintiff holds James T. Thomas, t/d/b/a No Huddle Café and Black-N-Gold Cheesecake Co. LLC, t/d/b/a No Huddle Café responsible because Thomas "expressly admitted" that he was aware that naming his business "The Huddle" would create a legal issue, and was even aware of the year in which THI started its business. Thomas stated that he was changing the name of "The Huddle" and acknowledged that he needed to remove the word "Huddle" from the business name to avoid litigation with plaintiff, the suit says.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment in its favor and against defendants, jointly and/or severally, for injunctive relief, or alternatively or in addition to an amount exceeding $35,000, and any other award the court deems to be just and recoverable under Pennsylvania law. It is represented by Julian Neiser, William Smith and Mark Fiorilli of Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC in Pittsburgh.
The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Case No. is GD 2018-012831.