Von Dutch Goes to Court, Again
Los Angeles–based apparel maker Von Dutch Originals is embroiled in another legal tussle.
Tonny Sorenson, chief executive of Von Dutch, is taking his former partner, Michael Cassel, to court, as well as the heirs of the late artist Kenneth Howard, whose nickname “Von Dutch” and art helped launch the label. Cassel is countersuing Sorenson.
On May 9, Von Dutch filed a suit in U.S. District Court against Cassel and Howard’s heirs, Lorna Michael and Lisa Howard, alleging unfair competition, trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting, violation of permanent injunction and breach of settlement agreement.
Sorenson maintains that Cassel, Michael and Howard are selling “thousand of dollars in counterfeit Von Dutch product” through licensing agreements with companies in Hong Kong, China and South Korea.
A countersuit filed by Cassel in June accuses Von Dutch and Sorenson of fraudulently obtaining Cassel’s interest in Von Dutch and never intending to pay a $1.25 million previously agreed-to settlement. Payments were to be paid in $250,000 increments between September 2004 and December 2005, with a final payment of $500,000 in December 2006.
Cassel accuses Sorenson and Von Dutch of skirting the first $500,000 payment by making it to the Court and not to the former Von Dutch executive.
In his countersuit, Cassel asks for $750,000 in damages plus punitive damages. The lawsuit does not address the claims made against him and Howard’s heirs in the Von Dutch suit.
Sisters Michael and Howard started wholesaling Von Dutch–branded merchandise in 1996, and later sold the trademark to Cassel.
Cassel launched Von Dutch Originals in 1998, making a splash with trucker hats and T-shirts emblazoned with artwork of the late “Von Dutch.” Sorenson joined the company in 2000, and 18 months later attempted to purchase Cassel’s share of the business.
The attempted takeover was an unhappy, two-year struggle between Cassel and Sorenson.
In the fall of 2002, Cassel initiated litigation against Sorenson, charging that Sorensen had misrepresented an investor’s agreement and had illegally claimed all the rights to the Von Dutch name.
In an August 2004 settlement, Sorenson gained ownership of the brand and became Von Dutch’s sole owner and president.
The agreement granted Cassel $1.25 million, to be paid out over a two-year period in exchange for his rights to the Von Dutch name. Cassel, who went on to found Stronghold brand jeans, says Sorenson never paid the first settlements and owes him $750,000.
On July 3, a district court judge ordered Von Dutch to deposit $750,000 in court. “In the event Mr. Cassel prevails in the lawsuit, that money will go to him,” said Cassel’s lawyer, Steven Haney of Haney, Buchanan & Patterson in Los Angeles.
Now, Von Dutch and Cassel are gearing up for another round of legal maneuvering.
Von Dutch is asking the court to waive the $750,000 it owes to Cassel to offset the damages the company said it incurred from Cassel’s alleged trademark infringement.
Von Dutch also is asking for the seizure of all Cassel’s licensed goods bearing the Von Dutch marks; restitution of profits made by Cassel, Howard and Michael on the counterfeit Von Dutch merchandise; and damages for lost sales and profits the company said it suffered from the sale of counterfeit merchandise. —Erin Barajas
