Source: http://www.allcourtdata.com/law/case/native-american-arts-inc-v-chico-arts-inc/cw6ybg7F
Timestamp: 2017-09-26 01:45:42
Document Index: 105652062

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 305', '§ 305', '§ 305', '§ 305', '§ 305', '§ 305', '§ 305']

NATIVE AMERICAN ARTS, INC., Plaintiff, v. CHICO ARTS, INC., a Texas corporation, Defendant. - AllCourtData.com
8 F. Supp. 2d 1066 (1998)
CHICO ARTS, INC., a Texas corporation, Defendant.
No. 97 C 6325.
*1067 Michael Patrick Mullen, Mullen & Foster, Chicago, IL, for Native American Arts Inc., plaintiff.
James Michael Hofert, Michael John Leech, Scott Frederick Burns, Bruce L. Carmen, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, IL, for Chico Arts, Inc., a Texas Corporation, defendant.
The plaintiff, Native American Arts, Inc. ("NAA"), filed suit against the defendant, Chico Arts, Inc. ("Chico Arts"), for selling certain products. Count I alleges violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 ("IACA"), 25 U.S.C. § 305 et seq. Count II alleges violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act ("Consumer Fraud Act"), 815 ILCS 505/2. Count III alleges violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act ("DTPA"), 815 ILCS 510/2. Chico Arts moves to dismiss all counts of the complaint. For the reasons set forth below, Chico Arts' motion is granted in part and denied in part.
The NAA is an Indian arts and crafts organization composed of members of the Ho-Chunk Nation, an Indian tribe recognized by the United States government, and of Indians of other recognized tribes. Chico Arts is a company that sells arts, crafts, and jewelry throughout the United States. It is not an Indian, a member of an Indian tribe, a recognized Indian artisan, or an Indian arts and crafts organization.
The NAA alleges that Chico Arts has offered, advertised, marketed, displayed, or sold various products in a manner that suggests they were Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian arts and crafts organization when in fact, they were not. These products are traditional Indian artworks and crafts, such as tomahawks and peace pipes, embodying traditional Indian styles, motifs, and designs, and are traditionally made by Native Americans.
Chico Arts allegedly prints catalogs, posters, brochures, flyers, order and invoice forms, advertising and marketing materials, and literature using the terms "Indian," "Native American," and tribes, and falsely stating that the products are "handcrafted by Native American Indians." It places tags on some of the products depicting a Native American woman handcrafting an Indian product and with the phrase "Native Americans" and identifying certain North American tribes. Other tags have the term "Indian," "Native American," or tribes on them. Furthermore, Chico Arts' salespersons falsely state that the products are authentic Native American or Indian produced products or Indian products. Most of the products sold either do not have any disclaimers on them or the disclaimers are inadequate.
25 U.S.C. § 305e(a) states that:
[a] person specified in subsection (c) of this section may, in a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction, bring an action against a person who offers or displays for sale or sells a good, with or without a Government trademark, in a manner that falsely suggests it is Indian produced, an Indian product, or the product of a particular Indian or Indian tribe or Indian arts *1068 and crafts organization, resident within the United States....
25 U.S.C. § 305e(c) specifies that:
(1) A civil action under subsection (a) of this section may be commenced 
The plain language of § 305e(c) clearly authorizes only two parties to bring a suit: the Attorney General or an Indian tribe. The NAA is not an Indian tribe but an Indian arts and crafts organization. Thus, it does not have standing to bring suit under § 305e(c).
The NAA argues that the language of the statute indicates that it can bring suit. It argues that the statute should be read as follows: "A civil action under subsection (a) of this section may be commenced ... on behalf of an Indian arts and crafts organization." It claims that under this reading, an action can be brought by an Indian arts and crafts organization on behalf of itself. Even if I read the statute as the NAA suggests, the statute still does not support standing for the NAA. If a civil action may be commenced "on behalf of an Indian arts and crafts organization," the critical question is by whom? § 305e(c)(1)(B) explicitly states "[b]y an Indian tribe"; not by an Indian arts and crafts organization.
In the alternative, the NAA argues that it can bring suit under § 305e(c) because it is an intended beneficiary of the statute, because the legislative history supports an action by an Indian arts and crafts organization, and because allowing it to bring suit would further the underlying policy and purpose of the statute. None of these arguments are persuasive where the plain language of the statute unambiguously indicates who may bring suit. See Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co.,
Date Created: October 30 2013 at 10:35:08.
Date Modified: April 26 2016 at 23:28:57.