Written by Blake Brittain
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide a $43 million dispute between two real estate companies – one in Virginia and one in Georgia – over the rights to the “Dewberry” name in a case exploring when the court can award ownership of the “Dewberry” name. Company profits as a remedy for trademark infringement.
The justices accepted an appeal by Atlanta-based Dewberry Group against rulings by lower courts in favor of Fairfax, Va.-based Dewberry Engineers. The court is scheduled to consider the case in its next session, which begins next October.
U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady, based in Virginia, ruled in favor of Dewberry Engineers in 2021 and later awarded it $43 million in Dewberry Group profits that he determined stemmed from willful trademark infringement. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023 upheld the O’Grady decisions.
The engineering firm Dewberry Engineers began operating in the 1950s and later expanded its business to include real estate development services in the southeastern United States. In 1989, real estate developer John Dewberry founded the Dewberry Group, which provides similar services through several subsidiaries.
Dewberry Engineers first sued Dewberry Group, then known as Dewberry Capital, for trademark infringement in 2006. The companies settled the case in 2007.
Dewberry Capital changed its name to Dewberry Group in 2017 and began providing services under sub-brands including Dewberry Living, Dewberry Office and Studio Dewberry. Dewberry Engineers sent cease and desist letters after Dewberry Group filed for federal trademarks covering the brand names.
Dewberry Engineers sued Dewberry Group back in 2020 alleging infringement of its trademarks and breach of its settlement agreement.
The Dewberry Group told the Supreme Court in February that lower courts wrongly held it liable for the actions of subsidiaries that were not named in the case.
“Allowing plaintiffs to destroy differences between companies in this way risks widespread adverse consequences,” the Dewberry Group told the judges in its filing.