Boxcar Media v. Redneckjunk

Citation: Boxcar Media, LLC v. Redneckjunk, LLC, 345 F.Supp.2d 76 (D. Mass. 2004).

Factual Background
Plaintiff operated the website “www.racingjunk.com,” a classified ad site linking buyers and sellers of car parts for racing aficionados as well as a “communication forum for the racing community.” Plaintiff also operated several other classified sites, including “boatingjunk.com” and “rvjunk.com,” which provided similar services for boating and recreational vehicles. Defendant later started three of its own websites, including “www.redneckjunk.com,” which also provided advertisements for automobiles, boats, and RVs and which copied plaintiff’s customers’ advertisements.

Trial Court Proceedings
Plaintiff sued for trademark infringement. In an earlier decision, the court granted plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, finding plaintiff’s marks suggestive and thus inherently distinctive. The court enjoined defendant from using “redneckjunk,” “rjunk,” or any other business name, trade name, or trademark containing the word “junk” and from using customer advertisements from plaintiff’s websites without the customers’ prior consent.

The court also ordered defendant to give written notice to “all third parties” that they caused or encouraged to advertise, market, display, or otherwise promote the enjoined names, including a copy of the court’s order and instructions to cease use of such marks.

In this decision, the court granted plaintiff’s motion to dismiss defendant’s counterclaims for interference with advantageous business relationship and unfair trade practices. Defendant alleged that plaintiff wrongfully induced NASCAR to require defendant to remove its advertisement banner from a car it sponsored and from any NASCAR websites. But defendant failed to plead on any of the necessary elements for these two claims, instead basing both claims on a single allegation.

This page uses content from Finnegan’s Internet Trademark Case Summaries. This entry is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.