Len Gordon and William Lawrence published “Ninth Circuit Clarifies Standards for Equitable Damages in False Advertising Cases” in the October 2021 issue of The Licensing Journal. The following is an excerpt:
A recent decision in the Ninth Circuit sheds new light on whether, and the standard by which, a false advertising claimant must prove equitable damages under the Lanham Act. In Grasshopper House, LLC v. Clean & Sober Media, LLC, No. 2:18-cv-00923-SVW-RAO the plaintiff obtained a jury verdict finding the defendants liable for false advertising. But the district court cancelled the damages phase of the jury trial after the exclusion of plaintiff’s damages expert, which the court reasoned was plaintiff’s only evidence concerning actual losses as a result of defendants’ misrepresentations. Therefore, the district court held a bench trial concerning equitable relief, where it entered a permanent injunction against defendants’ false advertising, but denied plaintiff’s requests for disgorgement of profits, attorneys’ fees, and costs.
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