A federal judge has given Buc-ee’s until Tuesday, Nov. 17, to show why its trademark lawsuit against Beaver’s Mini Mart in Beavercreek should not be dismissed, after finding no evidence the mini mart was served with an amended complaint, WHIO reported Nov. 11, in coverage credited to the Dayton Daily News.
Buc-ee’s filed the lawsuit July 28 in U.S. District Court in Dayton, alleging that the carryout at 1592 Hanes Road in Beavercreek has a logo that too closely resembles its smiling cartoon beaver with a red baseball cap, featured on billboards, signage and branded products for the chain of mega-travel centers, according to the Dayton Daily News reporting cited by WHIO.
An amended lawsuit filed Oct. 20 by Buc-ee’s says Beaver’s Mini Mart started using its beaver logo long after Buc-ee’s created its trademark, which it obtained decades ago, according to that reporting. The dispute has drawn attention far beyond the courtroom through the summer and fall, in a city — Beavercreek — whose very name and history are built around the beaver.
However, there is no evidence that Beaver’s Mini Mart has been served with the amended complaint, according to a Tuesday, Nov. 10, order by District Judge Michael Newman requiring Buc-ee’s to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for failure to comply with a federal rule of civil procedure, the Dayton Daily News reported. Buc-ee’s has until Tuesday, Nov. 17, to show cause, according to the order.
A dismissal on those grounds would be a procedural ending, not a ruling on whether the two beaver logos are actually confusingly similar — the merits question at the heart of the case, which no court has yet decided. It would leave the Hanes Road carryout’s signage as it is unless Buc-ee’s chose to start over, and it would close, at least for now, one of the most talked-about business disputes in the Miami Valley this year.
What happens next is entirely on Buc-ee’s side of the docket: a filing by Nov. 17 that satisfies Judge Newman, or a case that faces dismissal. NewsForce247 will update this story when the court records Buc-ee’s response or a ruling.