Man Wins ‘Lawn Managers’ Trademark Case Against Ex-Wife

The owner of a Missouri lawn care company won a trademark infringement case against his ex-wife’s lawn care company because her company continued using his mark after their post-divorce licensing agreement expired, under a Wednesday ruling from the Eighth Circuit.

Randy Zweifel and Linda Smith co-owned the Lawn Managers lawn care business while they were married.

After they divorced, Zweifel retained the rights to the Lawn Managers business and name, and allowed Smith to launch a separate lawn care business under the same name. The agreement mandated that after two years, Smith would only use the name “Progressive Lawn Managers.” ...