On Sept. 19, a judge in the Northern District of Indiana ruled that Forest River can collect enhanced damages after a jury determined inTech Trailers infringed its mountain design trademarks on recreational vehicles, increasing the award from $2 million to more than $5.5 million to ensure inTech does not profit from its infringement.

Forest River, Inc. a large Berkshire Hathaway RV manufacturer, sued a competitor for infringing on two of its trademarks. Taft lawyers Phil Bautista, Zeff Gebolys, and Tracy Betz represented Forest River. The case went to a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, where the jury rendered a unanimous verdict and awarded Forest River $2 million and found that the defendant “willfully” infringed on Forest River’s DELLA TERRA and mountain design trademarks through the sale of its “Terra” brand travel trailers.

The enhanced damages increase the jury’s profit award from $2 million to $5,561,943 as the order awarded on Sept. 19 was $3,561,943 in new dollars in addition to what the jury had already awarded in March. Also awarded were prejudgment interest on those damages in the amount of $244,623, attorneys’ fees in the amount of $1,285,016, and costs in the amount of $51,933, resulting in more than $7 million in total damages awarded. This is the largest damages amount in the Northern District of Indiana for a trademark case in the last 15 years. The case was featured in a Law360 article on Sept. 20 (subscription required).

The Taft team included Phil Bautista, Zeff Gebolys, Tracy Betz, and Mick Terrell.

Bautista is a partner in Taft’s Intellectual Property and Litigation practice groups, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and co-chair of the Trademark group. He has extensive first-chair litigation and trial experience and has a nationwide practice, litigating cases involving trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets throughout the United States. He also has extensive experience in litigation involving technology, general commercial, product liability, engineering, and construction matters.

Gebolys is a partner in Taft’s Intellectual Property and Litigation practice groups, where he provides clients with guidance in all stages of the litigation process, including injunctions and pre-litigation dispute resolution. He has a broad range of experience in trademark litigation matters across the country and has significant in-court experience in both state and federal courts. In addition to IP litigation, his practice covers complex contract disputes, construction litigation, and appeals.

Betz is a partner in Taft’s Commercial Litigation practice in Indianapolis, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and co-chair of the Gender Advancement Committee. Betz is a trial attorney with extensive experience, having litigated more than six trials in the last four years, four of which were jury trials. She handles matters ranging from contract disputes, intellectual property, trade secret management, non-compete, and securities issues.

Terrell is a partner in Taft’s Labor and Employment and Litigation practice groups. He concentrates his practice on all aspects of labor and employment law, with a particular emphasis on the prevention and defense of employment litigation. He has extensive experience in handling complex commercial and business disputes, including cases involving securities laws, antitrust laws, corporations and partnership law, unfair business practices, and other general business and corporate matters.