Whirlpool Wins Trademark Infringement Jury Trial

A team of attorneys from Nyemaster Goode represented Whirlpool Corporation in a trademark infringement and unfair competition action against Filters Fast LLC, culminating March 13, after a seven-day trial, with a federal court jury finding Filters Fast’s marketing practices willful and likely to deceive consumers. The jury also awarded Whirlpool damages of $5.8 million.

  
Whirlpool Corporation filed the lawsuit against Filters Fast LLC in October 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, alleging that Filters Fast violated Whirlpool’s trademarks including Whirlpool®, KitchenAid®, Maytag®, Amana® and EveryDrop®.

The jury found Filters Fast was prominently and deceptively referencing Whirlpool’s brands, and was using images of genuine Whirlpool products to sell non-genuine, third-party branded water filters. These non-genuine filters did not meet Whirlpool's high standards for quality and were not certified to remove as many contaminants as genuine Whirlpool filters.
Nyemaster Goode attorneys Jeffrey Harty, Allison Kerndt, David Bower, Ryan Stefani, and Matthew McGuire represented Whirlpool.

 
“We’re extremely pleased with the jury verdict, which protects Whirlpool’s trusted brands and also protects the rights of consumers to make informed purchasing decisions with the confidence they will receive the products and performance that they desire,” said Harty, lead trial counsel for Whirlpool.

Kerndt, another member of the trial team added, “We couldn’t be happier for our client. Whirlpool is dedicated to innovation and improving the lives of its customers. We were honored to represent Whirlpool in this important case.”