Contract analysis

I. FINDINGS SUPPORTING INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

1. Plaintiff MCB is the owner of the following valid and legally enforceable federal trademark registrations, each of which is registered on the Principal Register of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in International Class 3 (cleaning preparations): (a) United States Registration No. 4,218,506 for the mark MERIDIAN in standard character form, registered on August 14, 2012, for "household cleaning prepara

2. Each of the foregoing registrations is valid, subsisting, and has not been abandoned, cancelled, or the subject of any successful challenge before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or any court of competent jurisdiction. The registrations are entitled to the presumptions afforded by 15 U.S.C. § 1057(b) and § 1115(a), including the presumptions of validity, ownership, and the exclusive right to use the registere

3. MCB has used the MERIDIAN mark in interstate commerce in connection with the advertising, promotion, offering for sale, sale, and distribution of household cleaning products continuously and without interruption since approximately 2011. MCB's use of the MERIDIAN mark predates any use by Brindoval of the accused "MERIDIAN FRESH" mark by more than a decade.

4. MCB's MERIDIAN-branded household cleaning product line has achieved substantial commercial success and widespread consumer recognition. In Fiscal Year 2022, MCB's MERIDIAN-branded cleaning products generated approximately $94.5 million in net revenue. Over the period from 2011 through 2022, MCB has invested cumulative advertising and marketing expenditures of approximately $47.2 million in promoting the MERIDIAN b

5. In or about July 2022, Defendant Brindoval launched a private-label household cleaning product line under the mark "MERIDIAN FRESH" in International Class 3. Brindoval's MERIDIAN FRESH products have been offered for sale and sold in all 148 Brindoval retail store locations across the United States and on Brindoval's e-commerce platform accessible at www.crestviewhomegoods.com. The MERIDIAN FRESH product line is so

6. Brindoval's MERIDIAN FRESH packaging and trade dress employs a teal-and-white color scheme and a stylized wave device that are confusingly similar to MCB's registered trade dress elements and to the MERIDIAN stylized logo with wave device registered as U.S. Registration No. 5,589,320. The overall commercial impression created by the MERIDIAN FRESH packaging is strikingly similar to the overall commercial impressio

7. The consumer confusion survey conducted by Dr. Elaine Furman, Ph.D., of Lakeshore Brand Consulting LLC, employing a Squirt-design modified Eveready protocol and utilizing a sample of 612 respondents drawn from the relevant consumer population (adults who have purchased household cleaning products within the preceding twelve months), demonstrated a net confusion rate of 31.4%. The raw confusion rate among responden

8. Applying the multifactor test for likelihood of confusion set forth in Polaroid Corp. v. Polarad Electronics Corp., 287 F.2d 492, 495 (2d Cir. 1961), the Court finds that Plaintiff has demonstrated a likelihood of confusion among consumers arising from Brindoval's use of the MERIDIAN FRESH mark and associated trade dress. In particular, the Court has considered and weighed: (a) the strength of MCB's MERIDIAN marks

9. The Court further finds that Plaintiff has demonstrated a likelihood of irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief. Loss of control over one's trademark and the resulting injury to goodwill and brand reputation constitute irreparable harm that cannot be adequately remedied by an award of monetary damages. See 15 U.S.C. § 1116(a); Salinger v. Colting, 607 F.3d 68, 81 (2d Cir. 2010). Every day that Defenda

10. The balance of hardships tips in Plaintiff's favor. Although the Court recognizes that compliance with an injunction will require Defendant to incur costs in connection with re-branding its private-label cleaning product line, these costs are of Defendant's own making and are outweighed by the continuing and irreparable harm to Plaintiff's trademark rights, consumer goodwill, and brand equity. Defendant's private

11. The public interest favors the issuance of a preliminary injunction. The public has a strong interest in being free from confusion as to the source, sponsorship, and affiliation of consumer products, particularly in the household cleaning products market where product quality, safety, and efficacy are matters of legitimate consumer concern. Enforcement of trademark rights serves the public interest by preventing

II. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF — PROHIBITED CONDUCT IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Brindoval Home Goods Inc., its officers, directors, agents, servants, employees, attorneys (including the law firm of Halverson McKay & Pruitt LLP and all attorneys associated therewith who are involved in this matter), successors, assigns, and all persons in active concert or participation with any of the foregoing who receive actual noti

III. COMPLIANCE TIMELINE Defendant shall comply fully with all provisions of this Order within forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of entry of this Order (the "Compliance Deadline"). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, within forty-five (45) calendar days of the date of entry of this Order, Defendant shall take each of the following specific actions: (a) Retail Removal. Remove all products bearing

IV. COMPLIANCE REPORTING Within fifty (50) calendar days of the date of entry of this Order — that is, no later than five (5) calendar days after the Compliance Deadline — Defendant shall file with the Clerk of this Court and serve upon Plaintiff's counsel of record a sworn declaration (the "Compliance Declaration") executed by a duly authorized officer of Brindoval Home Goods Inc. who has personal knowledge of the s

V. BOND REQUIREMENT Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c), Plaintiff Meridian Consumer Brands LLC shall post security with the Clerk of this Court in the amount of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) to secure the payment of such costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by Defendant Brindoval Home Goods Inc. in the event that Defendant is found to have been wrongfully enjoined or rest

VI. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS Nothing in this Order shall be construed to preclude Plaintiff from seeking additional, modified, or expanded injunctive relief at any stage of this action, including but not limited to an expansion of the scope of this Order, the imposition of additional compliance requirements, or the seeking of a permanent injunction following trial or dispositive motion practice, based on developments in

VII. SCOPE AND DURATION This Order shall remain in full force and effect during the pendency of this action and shall continue until the entry of final judgment, further order of this Court modifying or dissolving this Order, or a written agreement of the parties approved by the Court providing for the modification, dissolution, or termination of this Order, whichever occurs first.

VIII. SERVICE Plaintiff's counsel shall serve a true and correct copy of this Order, together with a copy of the Court's accompanying Memorandum Opinion and Order, upon Defendant's counsel of record: Gregory T. Halverson, Esq. Halverson McKay & Pruitt LLP 225 South Sixth Street, Suite 4200 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 by overnight delivery, email, or personal service, within three (3) business days of the date of ent

IX. CONSEQUENCES OF NONCOMPLIANCE Failure by Defendant or any person bound by this Order to comply with any provision hereof may result in a finding of civil contempt of court and the imposition of appropriate sanctions, including but not limited to monetary penalties, compensatory contempt sanctions, coercive fines, attorneys' fees and costs incurred by Plaintiff in connection with any contempt proceedings, and such