Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani St. Louis Senior Counsel Kevin Peek and Associate Donald Hageman, III successfully obtained a dismissal of all claims against GRSM’s client in a complex intellectual property dispute pending in federal court.
The case arose from a terminated distribution relationship between the parties, after the plaintiff asserted a broad range of claims, including breach of contract, federal trademark infringement, unfair competition, and related state law causes of action. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant engaged in improper post-termination conduct involving the marketing and sale of competing products and the use of allegedly similar branding.
GRSM moved to dismiss the complaint on multiple grounds, including lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue. The court granted the motion, finding that a mandatory forum selection clause governed the dispute and required that all claims be brought exclusively in a different forum.
The court determined that the forum selection clause was valid, enforceable, and sufficiently broad to encompass all asserted claims, including statutory claims, because they arose from the parties’ contractual relationship. The court further held that, in the absence of the contractually agreed forum, the plaintiff failed to establish an independent basis for personal jurisdiction.
Based on these findings, the court dismissed the action in its entirety for lack of personal jurisdiction. This outcome demonstrates the strength of GRSM’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice in managing complex trademark disputes. The team’s skilled litigators and deep IP knowledge ensure client assets are protected through tailored legal strategies.