FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A luxury jewelry brand has taken legal action against a company it alleges sells counterfeit jewelry according to a May 8 opinion in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale Division.
Cartier International AG accused Metzli Garcia of selling counterfeit Cartier merchandise on a website with the domain “monasoutfitters.com” and on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Poshmark.
Cartier alleged the defendant is “promoting and advertising, distributing, selling, and/or offering for sale goods in interstate commerce using counterfeit and infringing trademarks which are exact copies of the Cartier marks …”
It also accused Garcia of utilizing Cartier trademark without the plaintiff’s consent, causing damage to its overall brand and that the website is “likely to cause confusion, deception, and mistake the minds of consumers …”
Cartier said it has served the defendant with a cease and desist order, asking Garcia to stop infringing on the Cartier trademark brand. The suit says the defendant accepted the notice and responded by taking down products that were similar and branded as Cartier off the website.
However, the suit says, Garcia continued the counterfeit activity a few weeks later on the website and attempted to continue selling the merchandise in question.
Cartier alleges trademark counterfeiting and infringement, false designation of origin pursuant to 43(a) of the Lanham Act, and violation of common law unfair competition, and common law trademark Infringement.
Cartier seeks monetary and equitable relief, including an entry of permanent injunction under Federal Rule Civil Procedure 65 that blocks Garcia and her affiliates from continuing with the alleged counterfeit activity.
The plaintiff also requests that Garcia pay Cartier all profits received as a benefit of using its trademark and name.
Cartier seeks reasonable attorney’ fees, pre-judgment interest and any further just relief.