Author Topic: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls  (Read 4404 times)

kbosch1

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SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« on: October 23, 2019, 09:02:02 AM »
Is this a joke?  A guy who once created a haunted house in part of his home back in 2013 and called it Mystic Hotel is attempting to block SDC from using Mystic River Falls to "avoid confusion"  ???   

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/10/22/silver-dollar-city-naming-rights-new-water-ride-mystic-river/4061122002/

sdcfan88

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2019, 09:13:22 AM »
LOL this will be an open and shut case. Just some fool wanting hush money and their 15 minutes of Fame.

Joy

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #2 on: October 23, 2019, 12:12:54 PM »
Oh my GOD. I just did some poking around, and these people are REALLY hilarious. Pretty sure this lawsuit isn't just about the name of his haunted house... He's trying to build an entire theme park called Mystic City USA. And as of May 2019, on the Mystic Motel Facebook page, they were asking for prayers that they could raise money to buy the land they wanted for the park...

Here's the video of him and his son calling for prayers:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=360141034529519

kbosch1

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #3 on: October 23, 2019, 02:02:45 PM »
Oh my GOD. I just did some poking around, and these people are REALLY hilarious. Pretty sure this lawsuit isn't just about the name of his haunted house... He's trying to build an entire theme park called Mystic City USA. And as of May 2019, on the Mystic Motel Facebook page, they were asking for prayers that they could raise money to buy the land they wanted for the park...

Here's the video of him and his son calling for prayers:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=360141034529519


Beginning to think he is hoping this battle will be the answer to his "prayers"!   ;D

sdcfan88

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2019, 08:47:07 PM »
And it continues ::) As stated above I get the feeling this was all a publicity stunt for "free advertising" or to get "hush money".

https://www.ocregister.com/2019/10/31/missouri-theme-park-sues-orange-county-man-who-built-dark-ride-in-his-garage-over-trademark-infringement/

Quote
Missouri theme park sues Orange County man who built dark ride in his garage over trademark infringement
Silver Dollar City has asked the U.S. District Court to declare that the Missouri theme park owns the trademark rights to the Mystic River Falls name.
PUBLISHED: October 31, 2019 at 6:54 am | UPDATED: October 31, 2019 at 11:49 am

It’s a story as old as David and Goliath, but in this case Goliath has responded to David’s stones with a lawsuit.

A Missouri theme park that attracts more than 2 million visitors per year is suing an Orange County man who built a homemade dark ride in his garage for Halloween over who owns the trademarked name for a theme park attraction.

But the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri, didn’t throw the first punch. That surprising first blow was delivered by Scott D’Avanzo.

“I’m confident we’ll win in the end,” said D’Avanzo, 45, of Ladera Ranch. “We’re small and they’re big bullies.”

For the past few years, D’Avanzo has built a theme park-style dark ride in the two-car garage of his Ladera Ranch home and welcomed thousands of visitors at Halloween to take a spin on his handmade creation.

D’Avanzo called the ride Mystic Motel and dreamed of building bigger theme park attractions one day — so much so that he trademarked the Mystic Motel name for theme park attractions in 2013. He even founded a company called Adrenalin Attractions to develop his dream of one day building a theme park with the Mystic Motel ride as its centerpiece.
Scott D’Avanzo’s children, Brayden and Ava, then 6 and 4, respectively, pose in one of the Mystic Motel ride carts in D’Avanzo’s Ladera Ranch garage in 2015. (File photo by Nick Agro, Orange County Register/SCNG)

That’s where Silver Dollar City comes in. In August, the Missouri theme park announced plans to build the $20 million Mystic River Falls river rapids ride in 2020 as part of a new themed land.

D’Avanzo’s attorney sent a letter to Silver Dollar City in late September demanding that the park change the name of the Mystic River Falls ride because it infringed on the Mystic Motel ride’s trademarked name. Silver Dollar City responded with a 16-page lawsuit that accused D’Avanzo and Adrenalin Attractions of trademark infringement, unfair competition and an implied legal threat.

Silver Dollar City has asked the U.S. District Court to declare that the Missouri theme park owns the trademark rights to the Mystic River Falls name. And one more thing: Silver Dollar City wants D’Avanzo to change the name of the Mystic Motel dark ride in his Ladera Ranch garage.

The civil lawsuit states that Silver Dollar City acquired the trademark for the Mystic River Falls name from the U.S. Patent office in September and never heard any opposition from D’Avanzo during the months-long process.

Silver Dollar City declined to comment due to the legal nature of the situation, said theme park spokeswoman Lisa Rau via email.

Adrenalin Attractions is in development discussions with investors and amusement park vendors to build a Mystic City theme park at an undisclosed location in California, D’Avanzo said. The $2 billion theme park will feature 35 attractions including dark rides, roller coasters and a water ride, he said.

“We just don’t want to have 14 different attractions with Mystic on them,” D’Avanzo said in a phone interview. “It just muddies the waters.”

Adrenalin Attractions also sent a trademark infringement letter earlier this year related to the name of the $15 million Mystic Timbers roller coaster that opened in 2017 at Kings Island, D’Avanzo said. Lawyers for the Ohio amusement park told D’Avanzo’s attorney that they considered the matter closed, he said.

D’Avanzo built the Mystic Motel dark ride with his son, Ashton, now 15, in the garage of their suburban home in Ladera Ranch, a master planned bedroom community in an unincorporated part of Orange County near Mission Viejo.

Set in an abandoned 1955 desert motel along Route 66, Mystic Motel takes visitors through the decrepit interior of a deteriorating motor lodge and into its haunted basement. Along the way you peek into a bustling casino, explore derelict motel rooms and step into a diner for a refreshment. There’s even a TV news broadcast playing on a video screen that explains the haunted history of Mystic Motel.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2019, 10:06:46 PM by sdcfan88 »

kbosch1

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2019, 08:38:07 AM »
From his garage to a $2 billion theme park!  HA!  This guy is a treat and looking for a money grab.

woodgrain

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2019, 10:33:34 AM »
Isn't the one who swings first usually called the bully?

This guy is a mess. Multiple bankruptcies, federal tax lien, home loan default. Trying to do everything he can to hit the big payday in (or out of) court to pay off debts, while taking on water by incurring attorney's fees.

saladdays

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2019, 02:09:34 PM »
I'm guessing the guy didn't think doing this would have resulted in SDC suing him. What a mess on his part.

woodgrain

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Re: SDC in naming rights legal battle over Mystic River Falls
« Reply #8 on: November 22, 2019, 11:03:55 AM »
I read SDC's complaint. They are asking for declaratory judgment to affirm their rights to the Mystic River Falls mark, while also claiming that the filing for the Mystic Motel mark relied on fraudulent claims. So they are also asking that D'Avanzo's marks be made void. Also asking for monetary damages and attorney's fees. The letter from Adrenalin's attorney is also included in the case exhibits. It contained a pretty thinly-veiled warning that they felt their client could be entitled to "significant remedies including money damages" should SDC fail to abandon their application for the Mystic River Falls mark.

Adrenalin (defendant) received an extension to file their response to SDC's complaint. That response is due today.