Counterclaim-in-Reply Permitted in Trademark Infringement Case
A recent trademark infringement case featured the seldom-used counterclaim-in-reply. Feed Management Systems, Inc. v. Brill, 2007 WL 3156282 (D. Minn. 10/30/07).
Feed Management filed suit for breach of contract and related claims. With permission from the court, Brill filed a counterclaim for trademark infringement after the deadline to amend pleadings. Feed Management filed a counterclaim-in-reply for trademark infringement, which Brill moved to dismiss as not permitted under Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a).
The court stated a counterclaim-in-reply is a proper pleading if it is a compulsory reply to the counterclaim. The court determined that Feed Management's counterclaim-in-reply for trademark infringement was a compulsory reply to Brill's counterclaim and permitted the pleading.
