FORT MYERS, Fla. – A Florida paint and sealant company has filed a federal lawsuit against a competitor, alleging the company’s misleading marketing of a similar line of products is tarnishing its reputation.
Plaintiff INSECO Inc., based in Fort Myers, filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Fort Myers Division.
The named defendants are SHINGLE RX LLC, Dale Childress Jr., and Misti Childress, all of Branford, Florida.
At issue is the defendants’ alleged unauthorized, false, misleading, and deceiving use of its product SHINGLE RX.
“Defendants, upon information and belief, with full knowledge of the notoriety of Plaintiff’s goods, intended to and did trade on the goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s goods and have misled and will continue to mislead the public into assuming that Plaintiff’s goods are inferior to Defendants’ goods,” the 30-page complaint states.
INSECO is suing the defendants for federal trademark infringement, federal unfair competition, cyberpiracy, federal false designation of origin and false description, federal false advertising, and various Florida law violations.
According to its complaint, INSECO is a company manufacturing, distributing, and providing to the trade and to the public, paint, sealants, finishes, wood treatments, roof treatments, and other surface and substrate applications.
“Plaintiff’s products are recognized for exceeding quality and remarkable performance in their application,” the filing states.
INSECO claims it is the owner to a family of marks, all prominently featuring the RX term, including: Wood RX, NPS RX, Deck RX, and Paver Seal RX, among others.
“Plaintiff’s sealant treatments sold under the RX Family of Marks (the ‘RX Products’) outperform the products of Plaintiff’s competitors’ in effectiveness, especially when applied in geographic areas which encounter harsh weather conditions, such as excessive heat and humidity, driving rains, intense sun and constant mold and mildew growth,” the complaint states.
INSECO notes its RX products last three to five times longer than other traditional sealant treatments in the industry.
According to the filing, INSECO and the defendants are direct competitors.
INSECO contends that the defendants have “misrepresented and falsely described” their SHINGLE RX product and thus caused confusion about INSECO’s own line of products.
“Defendants’ misleading advertising has caused and is likely to continue to cause damage to Plaintiff by tarnishing the valuable reputation and image associated with Plaintiff and its goods,” the complaint states.
INSECO also takes issue with the defendants’ registration and use of an infringing domain name, alleging it constitutes cyberpiracy among other wrongs.
“The Infringing Domain Name is, for all intents and purposes, identical or confusingly similar to Plaintiff’s RX Family of Marks,” the filing states.
INSECO seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction, preventing the defendants from utilizing any false and misleading advertisements and forcing the defendants to deliver any and all literature, advertisements, business forms, and signs bearing unauthorized marks.
The company also wants the order to include a requirement that the defendants’ notify customers that the advertisements do not accurately depict INSECO’s RX products.
INSECO also seeks an accounting and payment of all profits gained by the defendants, monetary damages and attorney fees.
Coleman & Coleman in Fort Myers is representing INSECO in the lawsuit.
