Lizzie Borden House asks federal appeals court: Stop Miss Lizzie's Coffee shop
The owner of the Lizzie Borden House on Second Street is once again asking a court to stop its neighbor, Miss Lizzie’s Coffee, from doing business.
US Ghost Adventures on Monday filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The bed and breakfast’s owner asked the appeals court to reverse a federal District Court judge’s decision denying them a preliminary injunction against the coffee shop while the inn pursues a lawsuit against the cafe.
The Lizzie Borden House, at 230 Second St., claims that Miss Lizzie’s Coffee, at 242 Second St., is violating trademarks that US Ghost Adventures owns, creating confusion for customers and harming its business. It even claims a Fall River official was confused.
"Many consumers are not only actually confused, but also (understandably) angry and upset about being deceived by this false association," the 71-page brief reads, prepared by attorneys at the law firms of Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black of Richmond, Virginia, and Day Pitney of Boston.
“As a double whammy, while Miss Lizzie continues to sell more coffee and wrongfully profit from its false association, Ghost Adventures continues to be blamed by deceived consumers and irreparably harmed.”
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Didn’t US Ghost Adventures already lose this case?
No. US Ghost Adventures sued Miss Lizzie’s Coffee in September 2023 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. As part of that lawsuit, it asked the judge for a “preliminary injunction” against the coffee shop — meaning, US Ghost Adventures wanted the judge to stop the cafe from doing business until the case was resolved.
In October 2023, the judge denied that preliminary injunction, so the B&B and the coffee shop have both continued to operate pending the lawsuit.
In November 2023, US Ghost Adventures appealed that judge’s decision to deny the injunction — that's the matter at hand now. The lawsuit is still an open case.
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What is US Ghost Adventures claiming about Miss Lizzie’s Coffee?
The company claims Miss Lizzie’s Coffee is making money off an association with the Lizzie Borden House that doesn’t exist. The company alleges that customers think the two businesses are linked, and that the coffee shop is profiting from the house’s trademarks.
What trademarks does US Ghost Adventures think the cafe is violating?
Lizzie Borden infamously was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet in 1892. USGA owns a trademark of a specific hatchet logo. Miss Lizzie’s Coffee has also used the image of a hatchet in its business advertising.
District Court Judge Leo Sorokin noted in October that the hatchets have key differences and are not the exact same image.
USGA claims differences between the logos are minor enough that customers might not notice them — it also says that customers won't look at both logos simultaneously, but instead will see hatchet logos on two buildings and presume they’re related.
“The focus of the District Court's analysis should have been on the overall commercial impression conveyed by the marks,” USGA’s attorneys wrote in its appeal brief.
USGA also owns the wordmark “Lizzie Borden” for use in hotel and restaurant services. It claims that “Lizzie” is the “dominant word” in Miss Lizzie’s Coffee’s name, which violates that wordmark.
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Have customers really been confused about the Lizzie Borden House and Miss Lizzie’s Coffee?
USGA’s brief includes multiple testimonials from tour guides and customers alleging that people thought the two businesses were related — in some cases, tour guides testified, customers wanting to take a tour were upset about having to dump out coffee they'd bought next door, thinking it was from the same business.
USGA’s Director of Operations Josef Kruger also testified that someone from Fall River’s Inspectional Services department contacted him on June 27, 2023. At the time, the building at 242 Second St. had a sign in its window saying “Miss Lizzie’s” was “coming soon” but had no other information.
Kruger said the inspector he spoke to demanded to know what business the Lizzie Borden House was attempting to open next door. “The Lizzie Borden House can’t open up Miss Lizzie’s without informing us of these details,” Kruger said the inspector told him. The inspector had to be informed that the businesses are not related.
Has the coffee shop done anything to alleviate any potential confusion?
USGA notes that Miss Lizzie’s has posted a disclaimer, “Our GHOSTS are totally independent and not to be confused with any other Ghosts!” which it claims is “too cute by half” and “makes a mockery of a serious legal issue.”
That disclaimer is posted on the website for Miss Lizzie's Coffee. As of Monday afternoon, that disclaimer was not found at the shop itself. There, a sign posted in its front window reads: “Miss Lizzie’s Coffee is NOT associated nor affiliated in any way with the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast or Museum next door or any other business. (Neither are our Ghosts.)”
What’s next in this procedure?
Attorneys for USGA filed this brief attempting to prove why the District Court judge’s ruling was incorrect.
Next, attorneys for Miss Lizzie’s Coffee will file a brief attempting to prove the judge’s ruling was correct.
A panel of three judges will consider the briefs and make a ruling. There's no timetable for that ruling.
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Lizzie Borden trademark coffee shop fight in federal appeals court
