Massive judgement against boat builder

A hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut found boat builder Quarter Moon (QMI) and LaserPerformance (Europe) Limited (LPE) liable for a sum of $6,857,736.30, payable to Laser designer Bruce Kirby.

This is the latest blow to LPE which had once been the dominant builder for the International Laser Class Association (ILCA) in North America and Europe but is not currently eligible to build class boats.

Nearly a year ago, LPE was removed from the approved builder list when ILCA found the builder had breached the terms of the Laser Construction Manual Agreement, which seeks to ensure the identical nature of all Laser class boats, regardless of where they are built.

In this latest judgement on February 14, 2020, it was the culmination of a 7-year long Federal Court litigation between Kirby and QMI/LPE. Kirby’s claims were resolved by a jury who unanimously determined (1) QMI willfully infringed Kirby’s BRUCE KIRBY trademark and (2) both QMI and LPE illegally misappropriated Kirby’s name for commercial benefit.

The jury determined QMI’s unjust enrichment to be $4,337,157 and LPE’s to be $2,520,578. The jury also awarded punitive damages in an amount to be determined by the Court.

The jury’s verdict is long-awaited justice for Kirby, who has been seeking accountability for the Defendants’ illegal acts for years.

For the court document, click here.