SAN DIEGO –– A licensing battle over "Bad Boy" apparel will continue, a federal judge ruled Aug. 2.
Judge Cynthia Bashant of the U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of California denied Deep Blue Sports' request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Platypus Wear, who licenses the brand.
The logo is a caricature of a scowling boy with a buzz cut and spiky bracelet.
Platypus Wear licensed a logo of a caricature of a scowling boy with a buzz cut and spiky bracelet.
Platypus Wear accuses Deep Blue Sports, a British company, of failing to pay $300,000 in royalties. Platypus Wear also claims John Paul Gardner, director of Deep Blue Sports, planned to liquidate the business and shift assets to another company to avoid paying his debts.
Gardner sought to throw out the lawsuit, because he was not properly served. However, Platypus Ware's attorney successfully argued leaving the court papers in Gardner's mailbox was proper for international legal procedures.
Gardner also maintained California was not the proper place to litigate the matter.
The judge disagreed.
"Because BBE and Deep Blue Sports consented to the court's jurisdiction in their agreements with plaintiff, Gardner, as an alter ego, is also subject to the court's jurisdiction for the actions arising out of these arguments," Bashant wrote in her 18-page ruling.
Gardner represented himself in court. Platypus Wear's attorney is Karen B. King.