Comerica Inc. v. Fifth 3rd Bankcorp, 282 F. Supp. 2d 557 (E.D. Mich. 2003)

COMERICA Integrated, a Delaware enterprise, Plaintiff, v. Fifth 3rd BANKCORP, a lender holding company, Fifth Third Lender, an excellent Michigan charter financial, and you can Fifth 3rd Lender, an ohio rental bank, Defendants.

This might be a trademark case claiming infringement into the solution out of area 43 of your own Lanham Trading- Act), fifteen U.S.C. 1125(a) and you may Yards.C.L.An excellent. 429.4(a).

Plaintiff Comerica Integrated (Comerica) was a professional financial headquartered within the Detroit, Michigan with a major visibility regarding the down half this new lower peninsula out of Michigan. It also works in 2 almost every other says. Defendants Fifth Third Bankcorp, 5th Third Financial, a good Michigan rent financial, and you will Fifth Third Bank, an ohio rental Lender (along, Fifth Third) are a professional financial headquartered for the Cincinnati, Kansas with a serious presence on the straight down peninsula out-of Michigan. In addition, it operates into the 7 other Midwestern claims.

Property guarantee loan device is generally an adaptable type of credit secured of the borrower’s equity on the borrower’s domestic because of an additional financial.

Comerica recorded suit on the many years. Into the , the new Court held a hearing to your Comerica’s action to possess a primary injunction. By erroneous belief at the end of the fresh new hearing you to Fifth personal loans in Arizona Third pirated the use of FLEXLINE up on coming to Michigan certain 2 yrs shortly after Comerica first started their play with, the fresh Judge awarded an initial in. The newest injunction limited Fifth Third into the usage of FLEXLINE due to the fact follows:

Comerica asserts an earlier directly to the aid of the new trademarks FLEXLINE, Security FLEXLINE, Household Equity FLEXLINE and you may COMERICA’S Family Security FLEXLINE together with the home collateral loan device supplied by each party regarding the regions of Michigan in which the people participate

. whenever defendants in public use in the reduced peninsula of Michigan new keywords “5th Third Collateral FLEXLINE” concerning a property guarantee line of credit loan device, the terms *561 must can be found in a similar typeface and you will size as well as on the same line of text message and you will defendants should maybe not utilize the statement “5th Third Equity FLEXLINE” such that provides stature to the a minumum of one ones terms and conditions over the anyone else. It will perhaps not connect with 5th Third’s website.

This injunction try issued once an evidentiary hearing where in actuality the Legal figured there is certainly large facts, . . . regarding vernacular, one 5th Third had cribbed Collateral Flexline of Comerica and you can put it towards this market in order to simulate Comerica. The data because it stands today . contributes to the fresh new . tentative completion you to its usage of Security Flexline was developed alone of Comerica’s play with and that it was created for use along with its banking locations from inside the good multistate area of which Michigan is actually among them and also at the full time it acquired Old Kent it really adjusted . their advertising . to help you conform with its advertisements in other states, and because there isn’t any indication so it directed erica’s company into the an endeavor for taking organization off Comerica [and] it appears that got all this come identified during the day that the first injunction is closed they never ever would have started finalized. [U]nder new situations I could signal your order dissolving brand new first injunction.

FLEXLINE has been used in the usa due to the fact 1993 by loan providers offering shopping lines of credit

Toward factors and that go after, Comerica would-be denied recovery therefore the circumstances dismissed. The utilization of brand new housemark of any of the events, we.eERICA and you will 5th 3rd either in juxtaposition to FLEXLINE or perhaps in romantic distance is sufficient to separate for every party’s home collateral financing product. There is no customer confusion for the Michigan from what monetary establishments using FLEXLINE. There’s no private directly to explore.