Laserfiche WebLink
2 <br /> I am again copying the Lake Elmo city planner and council members on this further letter, <br />because apart from any legal considerations, your silence and non-responsiveness send a disturbing <br />message about the extent to which Landucci Construction is – or is not – responsive to the <br />reasonable concerns of immediate neighbors. It's one thing to disagree in good faith, but another <br />thing altogether simply to ignore people who will be immediately affected by one's plans. Is this <br />how Landucci Construction will behave when other concerns arise about the planned <br />development? <br /> <br /> As to the trademark dispute, the facts noted above demonstrate an apparent intention by <br />Landucci Construction to continue infringing the rights of Wildflower at Lake Elmo, Inc. in the <br />WILDFLOWER AT LAKE ELMO and WILDFLOWER trademarks. I strongly encourage you to <br />consult with qualified counsel concerning this matter at your earliest opportunity, as continued <br />infringement even after having been made aware of a third party's rights in a particular trademark is <br />the single factor most likely to result in a judicial award of financial damages and attorneys' fees <br />against an infringer. <br /> <br />This no longer is a situation in which Landucci Construction and Wildflower Twinhomes <br />may claim to be 'innocent' infringers who are acting in good faith without knowledge of a third <br />party's trademark rights; instead, the infringement now is what courts in Minnesota deem to be <br />"deliberate" or "willful" infringement. Champagne Louis Roederer v. J. Garcia Carrion, et al., No. <br />06-213, 2010 WL 3200034, *37 (D. Minn. Aug. 10, 2010) (“A case is exceptional if the infringer's <br />actions were malicious, fraudulent, deliberate, or willful,” and awarding attorneys' fees on that <br />basis); see also Porous Media Corp. v. Pall Corp., 110 F.3d 1329, 1341 (8th Cir. 1997) (upholding <br />attorney fee award where defendant's conduct was “deliberate and willful”) and 3M Co. v. <br />Mohan, No. 09-cv-01413, 2010 WL 5095676, at *1 (D. Minn. Nov. 23, 2010) (awarding attorney' <br />fees because "Defendant's actions with respect to 3M's trademarks establish deliberate and willful <br />infringement"). <br /> <br /> To be clear, my client would prefer not to litigate this matter, but like every trademark <br />owner, it has a legal obligation to protect its rights and to prevent consumers from being confused, <br />and so it will do so if Landucci Construction insists upon continuing its present course of action. <br /> <br />If the foregoing facts lead Landucci Construction to reconsider its use of the <br />WILDFLOWER TWINHOMES trademark, please let me know at your very earliest <br />convenience. Otherwise, please identify Landucci Construction's counsel so that service of process <br />may be arranged. <br /> <br /> Sincerely, <br /> <br /> Sean Ploen <br />_____________________________ <br />Sean Ploen <br />Ploen Law Firm, PC <br />724 Bielenberg Drive, #19 <br />Saint Paul, MN 55125-2620 <br /> <br />Telephone: (651) 894-6800