A $15 million jury award levied against Land O’Lakes Inc. for stealing a brand name that belonged to Colorado-based Cache La Poudre Feeds was reduced to $5 million on Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel wrote that the jury’s advisory verdict was “excessive and must be reduced.”
The jury award was considered a victory for “the little guy” because family-owned Cache La Poudre Feed’s annual sales reach $700,000, while Land O’Lakes takes in $7 billion a year.
Cache La Poudre Feeds sued Land O’Lakes over use of the feed name “Profile,” a trademark the company had used 10 years before Land O’Lakes.
At trial, the smaller company alleged that Land O’Lakes was aware that the name was already used by Cache La Poudre Feeds and the company asked the jury for a $30.5 million judgment.
That is the amount of money that Cache La Poudre Feeds estimated Land O’Lakes made in profits using the Profile name.
Lydia Botham, spokeswoman for Land O’Lakes, did not return a call for comment about the judge’s decision on Friday.
“It’s more than the loss of us getting all this money, it’s the fact that they don’t lose all this money,” said Cache La Poudre Feeds attorney Luke Santangelo. “What’s going to happen the next time (Land O’Lakes) faces this decision? I don’t know how many little guys would have the gumption to go against the big guy.”
The judge wrote in his opinion that he reduced the award because the small company competed with Land O’Lakes in only nine states.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
