Forever 21 throttled in Gucci case

By Jeff Trexler

When Forever 21 filed for a declaratory judgment against Gucci in retaliation for Gucci’s C&D, it was a move clearly designed to go viral — and outside the courtroom, it worked. The fast-fashion company’s complaint was instant clickbait, with countless headlines propagating Forever 21’s florid claims that it could vanquish Gucci’s purported stranglehold on stripes.

Monday’s summary judgment in Gucci’s favor is a pointed reminder not to judge the strength of a case by its likes and shares. Yes, on the surface the judge leaves the door open for the Forever 21 to amend its complaint to address the issues raised in his order, but those of you who have been in the legal biz for any length of time know the old rhetorical trick. The judge disses Forever 21’s arguments with cursory brush-offs that can be summarized as follows:

However, since the Oh Really? Owl meme has not been formally recognized even by the Ninth Circuit as sufficient grounds for dismissing a case, the judge oh so graciously, with expansive deference to court procedures, gives Forever 21 eleven whole days to come up with a new basis for its lawsuit “if plaintiff still wishes to pursue this action.”

Which is secret judge code for “No, you really don’t.”