Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-alsd-1_04-cv-00286/USCOURTS-alsd-1_04-cv-00286-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 370
Nature of Suit: Other Fraud
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Fraud

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

SOUTHERN DIVISION

AMERICAN STANDARD INC. and

AMERICAN STANDARD

INTERNATIONAL INC., 

Plaintiffs,

v.

ROBERT R. WILLIAMS, ROBERT R.

WILLIAMS CO., INC., an Alabama

Corporation, WILLIAMS-TRANE

AUTOMATION AND CONTROLS, INC., a

Florida Corporation, WILLIAMS-TRANE

OF FLORIDA, INC., a Florida Corporation

and WILLIAMS-TRANE, INC., an Alabama

Corporation,

Defendants.

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CIV. A. NO.: 04-286-WS-L

CONSENT JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION

Plaintiffs American Standard Inc. and American Standard International Inc.

(collectively “Trane”) having brought this action against Defendants for trademark

infringement, inter alia, of certain Trane trademarks, service marks, (collectively “the

Trane Marks” and attached as Exhibits 1-8 hereto) and the Trane trade name; and 

WHEREAS, in 1965, Trane entered into an agreement (“the Agreement”) with

Defendant Robert R. Williams Co., Inc. (“Williams Inc.”) whereby Williams Inc. acted

as an independent sales agent for Trane to sell certain heating, ventilation and air

conditioning (“HVAC”) equipment, systems and parts (“Products”), and to perform

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certain service on such Products; and 

WHEREAS, the Agreement licensed Williams Inc. the right to use the “Trane”

name until the Agreement was terminated;

WHEREAS, Williams Inc. and its principal, Robert R. Williams (“Williams”),

established three other companies to help perform the actions required under the

Agreement and under Trane policy, including Defendants Williams-Trane, Inc.,

Williams-Trane Automation and Controls, Inc., and Williams Trane of Florida, Inc.;

WHEREAS, Trane terminated the Agreement on May 30, 2004; 

WHEREAS, despite termination of the Agreement, the Defendants did not cease

using the Trane Marks in commerce; 

WHEREAS, Defendants now hereby consent, through their undersigned counsel

of record, to entry of a permanent injunction as set forth herein; it is hereby

ORDERED that the Defendants’ adoption and continued use of the Trane Marks

and Trane trade name after termination of the Agreement has caused and is likely to

continue causing confusion among consumers as to the source, sponsorship and

affiliation of the Defendants’ Products. It is further 

ORDERED that the Defendants, their principals, officers, directors, agents,

servants, employees, partners, attorneys, successors and assigns, and all persons acting

for, with, by, through, or under their, his, her or its control, and all those in privity, active

concert or participation with each of them, jointly and severally, shall immediately

discontinue the using and refrain from using the Trane Marks and Trane trade name or

any other confusingly similar trademark or trade name and shall immediately take the

following corrective action:

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Remove and discontinue using the Trane Marks and Trane

trade name or any other confusingly similar trademark or

trade name in all business names, corporate names, Web

site domain names, or email addresses;

Remove and discontinue using the Trane Marks and Trane

trade name from their Web sites and allow Plaintiffs’

representative access to the Defendants’ Web sites to

remove all instances of the Trane Marks or Trane trade

name;

Remove and discontinue using the Trane trade name found

in facsimile signatures of any and all facsimile machines

owned by the Defendants;

File with the appropriate governmental entities the Articles

of Amendment to the Articles of Incorporation for

Williams-Trane, Inc., Williams-Trane Automation and

Controls Inc., and Williams Trane of Florida, Inc. and any

other required resolution or minutes of each corporation,

which has been effectuated, to change these entities’ names

such that the word “Trane” is removed from each such

name. Defendants shall forward copies of all filings and

responses from the State of Alabama to Plaintiffs regarding

the above-mentioned amendments. Defendants shall

forward such correspondence to Plaintiffs no later than 10

business days from receipt; 

Remove and discontinue using the Trane Marks and Trane

trade name, or any other confusingly similar trademark or

trade name, found on all vehicles, including but not limited

to service and delivery trucks. Removal can be

accomplished by any means including but not limited to

removing decals or painting over those sections of the

vehicles so that the entirety of the Trane Marks and Trane

trade name is not visible;

Remove and discontinue using the Trane Marks and Trane

trade name, or any other confusingly similar trademark or

trade name, as they appear on Defendants’ buildings

themselves, outdoor signs attached or placed on the

buildings, or on signs on or near the Defendants’

surrounding properties;

Discontinue using the Trane Marks and Trane trade name,

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or using any other confusingly similar trademark or trade

name, on (i) all of Defendants’ form documents including

but not limited to letterhead, business cards, fax cover

sheets, purchase orders, sales orders, service tickets or

invoices, and (ii) promotional literature and advertisements

unless expressly authorized by Trane; 

Destroy all existing unused form documents bearing one or

more of the Trane Marks or the Trane trade name including

but not limited to letterhead, business cards, fax cover

sheets, purchase orders, sales orders, service tickets, or

invoices; 

Certify in writing to Plaintiff Trane the destruction of the

documents and things identified in subparagraph 8 of this

Ordered paragraph within 10 business days of such

destruction and identify what documents and things were

destroyed;

Discontinue using the Trane name or any other confusingly

similar trade name when answering the telephone and

circulate a memorandum in the form of Exhibit 9, attached

hereto, amongst all employees advising them of the

protocol for answering the telephone and otherwise

communicating and representing the Defendants to the

public; 

Contact any national or local telephone company in which

the Defendants’ have placed a listing that incorporates the

Trane Marks or the Trane trade name into the listing and

have such listings removed. After this is done, Defendants

shall certify in writing to Plaintiff Trane that such action

was taken and identify those phone books where the

listings were removed within 10 business days; 

Discontinue any activity constituting an infringement of the

distinctive Trane Marks or Trane trade name, or Plaintiffs’

rights to use or exploit the same;

Discontinue any activity which would dilute the distinctive

quality of Plaintiffs’ Trane Marks or the Trane trade name;

and

Such other corrective action that is necessary to assure

compliance with the injunction set forth in this Order; and

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it is further 

ORDERED on consent that this Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction

shall take effect upon execution by the parties without any further notice to Defendants;

and it is further

ORDERED that the parties hereby waive all rights to appeal this Consent

Judgment and Permanent Injunction; and it is further

ORDERED that this Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction is binding

upon and constitutes res judicata between the parties. 

CONSENTED TO:

By: ____________________

 Bradley R. Byrne

 Adams and Reese LLP/ 

 Lange & Simpson 

 P.O. Box 1348

 Mobile, Alabama 36633

 Attorneys for Plaintiffs

 American Standard Inc. and American 

 Standard International Inc.

By: ____________________

 Edward R. Jackson

 Jackson, Fikes, Hood & Brakefield

 P.O. Box 748

 Jasper, Alabama 35502

 Attorneys for Defendants

 Robert R. Williams Co., Inc., Robert R. 

 Williams, Williams-Trane Automation 

 and Controls, Inc., Williams-Trane 

 Florida, Inc., and Williams-Trane, Inc.

DONE and ORDERED this 22nd day of June, 2005.

 

 s/ WILLIAM H. STEELE

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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