RE/MAX SUED BY TINY RIVAL OVER NAME.Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX Staff Writer A tiny real estate company has sued one of the industry's biggest players and 1,700 of its agents in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. over trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attaching to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the license). , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. court documents. After Manhattan Beach-based RE/MAX RE/MAX Real Estate Maximums (Canada) All Cities Realty Inc. refused to drop the All Cities part of the company name, All Cities Realty Inc. of Costa Mesa Costa Mesa (kŏs`tə mā`sə), city (1990 pop. 96,357), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific south of Santa Ana; inc. 1953. It is a transportation, residential, and light industrial center. sued the company, as well as some of its current and former agents, in Los Angeles Superior Court. ``This is costing me a ton of money,'' said Joseph Miner, who started All Cities Realty in 1996 and is one of two employees. ``And it was never about money. We asked them many times for a couple of years to quit using the name.'' He does business throughout Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, . Miner's suit claims that this RE/MAX office's use of the name All Cities Realty, starting in 2002, has caused him financial damage of a least $100,000 per defendant. Miner said that about 830 agents have been served. His attorney, Jeffrey F. Sax, said that the vast majority will eventually be served. ``They have to maintain a current address with the state so it's not hard to find them. If we don't get all of them we'll get 95 to 98 percent,'' he said. Miner has also sued RE/MAX All Cities in federal court. The Superior Court action was necessary because during a federal court proceeding, RE/MAX claimed not to share in revenue from agent commissions, Sax said. RE/MAX attorney David B. Sandelands disputes Sax's view of why a filing was made in Superior Court. ``That's an incorrect statement,'' he said. ``That's as far as I'm willing to go on that matter. He has filed a motion to put the Superior Court case on hold while the federal action proceeds and a hearing has been set for Sept. 26. The federal court case is scheduled to start next April. ``We believe the claims lack merit. If this case were to proceed to trial, we believe RE/MAX All Cities will prevail,'' Sandelands said. He said that the phrase ``All Cities Realty'' is just a combination of generic words. RE/MAX All Cities Realty has 14 offices in Los Angeles and San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. counties, including a commercial brokerage office in Woodland Hills. Its Web site says the company now has 700 agents. greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3743 |
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