Stanley Furniture settles lawsuit with Whalen, Costco

Adult and youth case goods resource Stanley Furniture said it has settled a trademark infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Whalen Furniture and Costco Wholesale Corp.

Adult and youth case goods resource Stanley Furniture said it has settled a trademark infringement, trade dress infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Whalen Furniture and Costco Wholesale Corp.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2012, alleged that Whalen and Costco were selling a line of youth furniture through Whalen's Bayside Furniture division with the My Haven name. Stanley's YoungAmerica division has a trademark on the MyHaven name and has been selling the domestically produced youth bedroom line since 2006.

The suit also said that Whalen's "My Haven" bunk bed includes ornamental elements that are substantially identical to the ornamental designs in Stanley's MyHaven bunk bed.

On June 5, the parties said they had agreed to settle the lawsuit. While the terms are confidential, they include injunctive relief and undisclosed monetary terms, Stanley said in a statement.

Citing confidentiality, Glenn Prillaman, president and CEO of Stanley Furniture, declined to discuss further details of the settlement. He did note that the company pursued legal action after being alerted to the situation by its customers.

"Our customers brought this to our attention and said to us, ‘We need your help in protecting your intellectual design property in the marketplace.' We definitely heard that and acted and felt it was in the best interest of our customers and our associates. This was the result, and we are very pleased with the result," Prillaman said.

Ken Whalen, president of Whalen Furniture, said, "On behalf of our customers and our associates, we are pleased with the settlement."

Costco officials did not return a call seeking comment.

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