Opinion ID: 772978
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Procedural History of the Present Suits

Text: 18 From 1987 to 1995, the parties intermittently attempted to work out an arrangement under which the band members would perform using the name WAR, but those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. On February 28, 1996, Far Out Productions filed the present suit against the appellant Scott and the other band members, alleging unfair competition and trademark infringement. Far Out Productions later amended the complaint to add Brown as a defendant. 19 In response to Far Out Productions' complaint, Scott filed a counterclaim against Far Out Productions and Goldstein alleging fraud, trademark infringement, and conversion. Brown filed a direct action against the appellees seeking to cancel the trademark registration, to have ownership of the trademark returned to the appellants, and to obtain damages for copyright infringement and breach of contract. 20 On March 21, 1997, Scott moved for summary judgment on Far Out Productions' complaint on two grounds: (1) that the Florida judgment precluded the appellees from relitigating the ownership of the trademark; and (2) that the appellees' failure to disclose the Florida judgment in the incontestability affidavit rendered the affidavit false and the trademark registration invalid. The district court denied Scott's motion, finding that there were triable issues of fact as to whether the Florida judgment applied to Far Out Productions and Goldstein. 21 On February 2, 1999, the appellees filed a motion for summary judgment. The district court held a hearing on March 16 and 17, 1999 and granted the appellees' motion. On June 10, 1999, the district court issued a judgment and a permanent injunction, finding that Far Out Productions was the sole owner of the registered trademark WAR and that the appellants had infringed upon the mark. 22 On June 28, 1999, the appellants filed a motion for a new trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(a) and a motion to amend the judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(b), claiming that there was newly discovered evidence and that the appellees' counsel had submitted false testimony to the court. On August 19, 1999, the district court heard oral argument and denied the motion. In a written order entered on August 20, the court observed that much of the evidence the appellants presented in their motion was already before the court at the summary judgment hearing. The court regarded the appellants' evidence of misconduct and false testimony as unconvincing and found that the appellants' new evidence was procedurally and substantively defective.