Judge reduces award from jury

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

A federal district court judge on Aug. 30 reduced a jury award to a north Fort Collins feed store by $10.2 million in the store's trademark infringement lawsuit against Land O'Lakes.

In his ruling, Judge Wiley Daniel called the jury's advisory verdict to give Cache La Poudre Feeds $14.6 million of Land O'Lakes profits "excessive." Instead, Wiley set the profits award at nearly $4.4 million based on sales in nine states where both companies sold a similar product named Profile.

The jury's awards for actual damages and punitive damages, which totaled $551,639, could not be changed.

Cache La Poudre Feeds, a 25-year-old business, filed a lawsuit against Land O'Lakes in 2004 after the company rebranded its show feed lines with the Profile name, though it was warned the name was already taken. Cache La Poudre Feeds owner Ron Treiber said he can document his use of the Profile name back to 1991.

Treiber's attorney, Luke Santangelo of Fort Collins, said an appeal of Wiley's decision by Cache La Poudre Feeds seems likely. Santangelo said he was disappointed over the societal impact of letting a big company make $10 million while infringing on a small company's trademark.

Land O'Lakes had argued that Cache La Poudre feeds should not receive profits from states where it was not doing business.

Land O'Lakes is a Minnesota-base agricultural co-op. It also has the option of appealing the verdicts to a higher court.

When it filed the lawsuit, Cache La Poudre Feeds sought damages of $132.8 million. Land O'Lakes filed a countersuit claiming that Cache La Poudre Feeds was infringing on its trademark, but dropped that claim shortly before the two-week jury trial that started June 25.