Lighting & Supplies, Inc. v. New Sunshine Energy Solutions INC

District Court, E.D. New York

Lighting & Supplies, Inc. v. New Sunshine Energy Solutions INC

Trial Court Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

LIGHTING & SUPPLIES, INC., MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiff, Case No. 20-CV-2790 (FB) (VMS) -against-

NEW SUNSHINE ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC., NEW SUNSHINE MANUFACTURING CO., LTD., SHENZHEN ZHAOPENG TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., DONGGUAN ZHAOPENG LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., and NEW SUNSHINE LIGHTING, INC.,

Defendants.

Appearances: For the Plaintiff: ANDREW BOCHNER Bochner IP, PLLC 295 Madison Ave 12th Floor New York, NY 10017

JONATHAN L. ADLER

JACOB E. LEWIN Stein Adler Dabah Zelkowitz LLP

1633 Broadway 46th Floor New York, NY 10019

BLOCK, Senior District Judge: On March 15, 2023, Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon issued a Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) recommending that Plaintiffs’ motion for damages be granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff filed this action against Defendants New Sunshine Energy Solutions Inc. (“NSES”), New Sunshine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (“NSMC”), Shenzhen Zhaopeng Technology Co. Ltd. (“SZT”); Dongguan

Zhaopeng Lighting Technology Co. Ltd. (“DZLT”), and New Sunshine Lighting, Inc. (“NSL”) (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging trademark infringement pursuant to Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act,

15 U.S.C. § 1114

(1), unfair

competition and false designation of origin under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act,

15 U.S.C. § 1125

(a), and supplemental claims under New York law. On February 10, 2022, Magistrate Judge Scanlon recommended that this Court grant Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment on liability with respect to

Counts I, III, and V, and deny without prejudice Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief. This Court adopted Magistrate Scanlon’s March 10 recommendation after no parties objected. In the instant motion, Plaintiff seeks statutory damages of

$50,000 per infringed mark from Defendants NSL and NSES, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. Magistrate Judge Scanlon recommends this motion be granted in part and denied in part. Specifically, the R&R recommends awarding Plaintiffs the following

damages: (1) $250,000, which is equivalent to $50,000 for each of the five infringed marks; (2) $1,692.35 in costs; and (3) post-judgment interest on those awards “calculated from the date of the entry of the judgment, at a rate equal to the

weekly average 1-year constant maturity Treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding the date of the judgment” under

28 U.S.C. § 1961

(a). The R&R recommends denying

Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees. The R&R also recommends dismissing Defendants NSMC, SZT, and DZLT from this action because Plaintiff has waived any claim for damages against them, as well as the claims as to which Plaintiff has

failed to timely move for a default judgment as to damages or claims for injunctive relief. Magistrate Judge Scanlon’s R&R stated that failure to object within fourteen days of the date of the R&R waives the right to appeal, precluding further review

either by this Court or the Court of Appeals. No objections were filed. If clear notice has been given of the consequences of failing to object and there are no objections, the Court may adopt the R&R without de novo review. See Smith v.

Campbell,

782 F.3d 93, 102

(2d Cir. 2015) (“Where parties receive clear notice of the consequences, failure to timely object to a magistrate's report and recommendation operates as a waiver of further judicial review of the magistrate's decision.”) (internal citations omitted). The Court will excuse the failure to object

and conduct de novo review if it appears that the magistrate judge may have committed plain error. See Spence v. Superintendent, Great Meadow Corr. Facility,

219 F.3d 162, 174

(2d Cir. 2000). No such error appears here. Accordingly, the Court adopts the R&R without de novo review and directs the Clerk to enter judgment in accordance with the R&R.

SO ORDERED.

_/S/ Frederic Block__________ FREDERIC BLOCK Senior United States District Judge

Brooklyn, New York March 29, 2023

Reference

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