Reference no: EM131473349

Question: AAA ABACHMAN ENTERPRISES, INC. v. STANLEY STEEMER INTERNATIONAL, INC., 268 FED. APPX. 864 (11TH CIR. 2008)

FACTS AAA Abachman Enterprises, Inc. (Abachman), is a Stanley Steemer International, Inc., franchisee, with a perpetual and exclusive license to "own and operate a Stanley Steemer carpet and upholstery cleaning business" in the upper half of Palm Beach County, Florida. The franchise agreement gave Abachman the sole right to use Stanley Steemer's "trademarks, service marks, patents, [and] trade secrets solely in a Stanley Steemer Business in that area and in no other manner." In February 2006, the franchisor, Stanley Steemer, granted two businesses owned by Thomas Scalera an "exclusive license to own and operate a Stanley Steemer Duct Cleaning Business" for a five year term, and "to use the Stanley Steemer Duct Cleaning Marks, proprietary equipment and products in a Stanley Steemer Duct Cleaning Business" in a territory that included the upper half of Palm Beach County and so overlapped with Abachman's territory. Abachman sued Stanley Steemer, alleging that Stanley Steemer had breached its franchise agreement by contracting with Scalera's companies. DECISION The district court granted summary judgment to Stanley Steemer International, Inc., and the court of appeals affirmed. The appellate court stated: "‘Where the terms in a contract are not ambiguous, courts are constrained to apply the plain language of the contract.' The terms of Abachman's franchise agreement with Stanley Steemer are not ambiguous; they give Abachman the exclusive right to use the mark in its carpet and upholstery business ‘and in no other manner.'" Thus, the court concluded, "Stanley Steemer retain[ed] the right to license its trademark to Scalera's businesses to use in connection with duct cleaning."