Trademark Infringement Filed by Culligan International Company against Former Culligan Franchise

Culligan International Company is a well-known global seller of water treatment products and services to residential, commercial and industrial customers, with over 800 franchise dealers and licensees to sell and distribute its products and who are licensed to use certain Culligan intellectual property. The defendant, Water Systems of Birmingham, Inc., is a former Culligan franchisee  which lost its franchise rights in 2010 due to alleged violations of its franchise obligations.

As of June 19, 2013, defendant’s website states it

…was an exclusive Culligan dealer for more than 16 years. In 2010, we decided to broaden our product lines and services to offer additional brands…Although we no longer are exclusive to the Culligan brand, we still offer repair and maintenance service to all of the many Culligan equipment customers that we currently have throughout Alabama.

In its complaint filed on June 7, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division, Culligan claims that the defendant has ignored several cease and desist letters from Culligan to stop using Culligan’s intellectual property and to stop falsely identifying itself with Culligan, allegedly causing mass confusion in the marketplace.

Culligan has also filed a separate lawsuit against the same defendant in the Circuit Court of Tallapoosa County, Alabama (Dadeville Division) that solely addresses state court actions regarding the defendant’s alleged unauthorized and illegal use of Culligan’s marks. That case is pending as of the date of this blog.

Culligan seeks compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs in its federal case.

The federal case is Culligan International Company, v. Water Systems of Birmingham, Inc., Case No.: 2;13-CV-01085. The case has been referred to Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins.