Equinox Holdings Inc., New York, has reached a settlement in a trademark lawsuit with a similarly named San Francisco-based hospitality company that claimed the health club company's recent venture into the hospitality business threatened its decades-old brand. The terms of the settlement were not publicly disclosed.
Public documents filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California indicate the parties reached a settlement on March 29 with Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signing a settlement order on April 12.
A joint dismissal order was filed with the court on April 26, one day before the case was officially closed.
The April 26 order states: "Pursuant to stipulation, Plaintiff and Counter-Defendant Equinox Hotel Management Inc. together with Defendant and Counterclaimant Equinox Holdings, Inc. hereby stipulate and agree that this case, including all claims and counterclaims, is dismissed with prejudice and that each party shall bear its own costs and fees."
Equinox Hotel Management Inc., San Francisco, manages hotel properties in the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. In its Nov. 1 complaint, Equinox Hotel Management said it had not authorized Equinox Holdings Inc. to use its name or brand likeness.
Equinox Holdings, the operator of 91 health clubs in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, is planning to open hotel concepts in New York and Los Angeles starting in 2019.
The parties did not respond to Club Industry's repeated requests for comment, and court documents do not indicate how or if the settlement will influence Equinox Holdings' future hospitality ventures. However, another court document, addressed on May 3 to the director of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, said that the case should be recognized as jointly dismissed with prejudice.
Equinox Hotels' website does not reflect any changes to the company's branding of the hotels as Equinox Hotels. The first Equinox Hotel is slated to open in 2019 in New York City, according to the website.
Equinox Hotels “will cater exclusively to the high-performance traveler to serve as the ultimate hotel destination with a 360-degree lifestyle experience,” a media release about the hotel venture said.
Equinox ranked No. 5 on Club Industry's 2017 Top 100 Clubs list with an estimated 2016 revenue of $1.09 billion.