1 800 FLOWERS COM INC filed this 10-Q on Nov 14, 2016
1 800 FLOWERS COM INC - 10-Q - 20161114 - LEGAL_PROCEEDING

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

Litigation

 

From time to time, the Company is subject to legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business:

 

Edible Arrangements:

 

On November 20, 2014, a complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut by Edible Arrangements LLC and Edible Arrangements International, LLC, alleging that the Company ’s use of the terms “Fruit Bouquets,” “Edible,” “Bouquet,” “Edible Fruit Arrangements,” Edible Arrangements,” and “DoFruit” and its use of a six petal pineapple slice design in connection with marketing and selling edible fruit arrangements constitutes trademark infringement, false designation of origin, dilution, and contributory infringement under the federal Lanham Act, 29 USC § 1114 and 1125(a), common law unfair competition, and a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, Connecticut General Statutes § 42-110b (a). The Complaint alleged Edible Arrangements has been damaged in the amount of $97.4 million. The Complaint requested a declaratory judgment in favor of Edible Arrangements, an injunction against the Company’s use of the terms and design, an accounting and payment of the Company’s profits from its sale of edible fruit arrangements, a trebling of the Company’s profits from such sales or of any damages sustained by Edible Arrangements, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees. On November 24, 2014, the Complaint was amended to add a breach of contract claim for use of these terms and the design, based on a contract that had been entered by one of the Company’s subsidiaries prior to its acquisition by the Company. On January 29, 2015, the Plaintiffs amended the Complaint to add one of the Company’s subsidiaries and to claim its damages were $101.4 million.

 

The Company filed an Answer and a Counterclaim on February 27, 2015. The Answer asserted substantial defenses, including fair use by the Company of generic and descriptive terms, as expressly permitted under the Lanham Act, invalidity of Edible Arrangements ’ trademark registrations on grounds of fraud and trademark misuse, lack of exclusive rights on the part of Edible Arrangements, functionality of the claimed design mark, acquiescence, estoppel, and Edible Arrangements’ use of the claimed trademarks in violation of the antitrust laws. The Counterclaim sought a declaratory judgment of lack of infringement and invalidity of claimed marks, cancellation of Edible Arrangements’ registrations due to its fraud and misuse, genericism, and lack of secondary meaning as to any terms deemed descriptive, and damages in an amount to be determined for violation of the antitrust provisions of the federal Sherman Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

 

Following extensive discovery, the parties engaged in mediation and reached an agreement in principle to resolve all claims on June 30, 2016. The parties entered a Confidential Settlement Agreement on July 22, 2016, pursuant to which, among other things, the Company paid $1.5 million to Edible Arrangements and the Company agreed not to use “Edible”, “Edible Arrangements” or “Do Fruit ’ in its marketing, except that the Company may refer to “Edible Arrangements” to comment on or compare the Company’s products to those of “Edible Arrangements”. The Company maintains its rights to market its products as “Fruit Bouquets” and “Bouquets,” and to the continued use of its branding of “Fruit Bouquets.com” and Fruit Bouquets by 1800Flowers.com. In addition, all claims and counterclaims in the case were dismissed with prejudice. The Company recorded the settlement paid to Edible Arrangements in the “General and administrative expense” line item in the consolidated statements of income for the year ended July 3, 2016.