Marten Transport won a $3.25 million jury award in a trademark infringement case against PlattForm Advertising Inc., which posts open trucking jobs on the Internet.
The case in U.S. District Court in Kansas arose after Marten in 2012 stopped using PlattForm’s subsidiaries to advertise for drivers. The trucking company that ranks No. 48 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers, said in court documents that the suit was filed after PlattForm ignored the Mondovi, Wisconsin-based carrier’s written demand to “immediately cease promoting any purported openings on Marten’s behalf.”
“Trademark infringement awards of this size are not an everyday occurrence,” said Harry Van Camp, an attorney at DeWitt Ross & Stevens, a Wisconsin law firm.
Neither PlattForm, based in Lenexa, Kansas, which now does business as KeyPath Education, nor its attorneys responded to requests for comment.
The plaintiff’s law firm said Judge John Lungstrom reduced the jury’s award by $750,000. The plaintiff’s press release said attorneys for both sides would make motions in the next several weeks regarding the remaining $2.5 million verdict amount.
