Judge Rebukes Trader Joe’s For ‘Meritless’ Trademark Lawsuit Against Workers' Union
HuffPost
The judge ordered the grocer to pay the union’s legal fees after it tried to claim the union had violated its trademarks.
A federal judge has rebuked Trader Joe’s for filing a “meritless” trademark claim against its workers’ union and ordered the grocer to cover the union’s legal fees as a deterrent against similar litigation.
The company had claimed that Trader Joe’s United, a new union representing employees at four stores, violated Trader Joe’s trademarks through its name and logo. But U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera dismissed the lawsuit in January, finding that Trader Joe’s had tried to “weaponize the legal system” against its own workers.
In a new order issued Tuesday, Vera went a step further and said Trader Joe’s should have to pay more than $112,000 in attorney’s fees for the union. He wrote that the trademark claim was notable for its “lack of substantive merit,” and reiterated his belief that Trader Joe’s never would have filed it if it wasn’t battling the union in an organizing campaign.
“Employers should be discouraged from bringing meritless claims against unions they are challenging at the ballot box,” he wrote.
A Trader Joe’s spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
