A team of Fox Rothschild trademark litigators led by Patricia Flanagan and Alex Braunstein won a pair of verdicts totaling more than $7 million on May 25 when a federal jury in Florida concluded that trademarks owned by Deltona Transformer Corp., the maker of a popular line of battery chargers, were intentionally and repeatedly infringed by a competitor in targeted digital ads run on Amazon and in its written and oral communications with customers.

After a seven-day trial, the jury specifically rejected the central defense asserted by the defendant, The Noco Co., whose lawyers argued that Deltona's BATTERY TENDER® trademark was invalid and unworthy of legal protection because it was merely a “generic designation.”

In its first verdict, the jury awarded Deltona $1.3 million in actual damages and found that Noco had committed “intentional misconduct or gross negligence.” In a second verdict handed up just hours later, the jury awarded $5.75 million in punitive damages.

The trial judge must still decide several important elements of the case. U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza scheduled a July 9 bench trial to decide the issue of disgorgement of profits.  The judge will also need to decide the forthcoming motions for an award of attorney’s fees, trebling of the damages and injunctive relief.  If Deltona is successful, the final judgment could grow by several million dollars.

“This is a win for all brand owners because enforcement has become particularly difficult due to advancements in digital marketing,” Flanagan said.

In its complaint, Deltona's alleged that Noco ran a deceptive ad campaign on Amazon between 2015 and 2018 that used the BATTERY TENDER® trademarks to confuse consumers and attempt to create an affiliation with the BATTERY TENDER® brand and company.  The testimony and evidence at trial also proved that Noco had also systematically used the trademarks in the direct marketing and promotion of its products to customers.

Deltona is a privately owned, family business started in 1965 that operates primarily in the powersport, automotive and marine industries. Its BATTERY TENDER® branded product line has been sold since the early 1990’s throughout the United States and the world in retail outlets, institutional channels and specialty stores, and on the Internet.

For decades, BATTERY TENDER® has been a household name and top-selling brand of battery chargers and battery-related accessories, particularly, in the powersport industry.  Deltona products are distributed in approximately 30,000 retailers nationwide, including independent brick-and-mortar stores, and every major retailer, including Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Advanced Auto Parts, O’Reilly’s and AutoZone.

The Fox trademark litigation trial team also included Dominique J. Carroll.

^{As this press release contains statements regarding past performance, please note that results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.}