Well, 6 and 9 have called a truce.
After a scheduled settlement hearing yesterday in U.S. District Court in Lexington, the local brewery West Sixth Brewing and the large conglomerate that owns Vermont-made Magic Hat, have this morning released a statement announcing a settlement of their logo dispute.
The statement, issued by Magic Hat’s public relations firm in New York state, indicates that there will be no further comment on the matter from either party.That effectively silences at least the companies’ participation in what Magic Hat had called a “smear campaign” on social media by West Sixth in an injunction filing over the Memorial Day weekend.
It also indicates that West Sixth retracts and apologizes for a listing of statements and assertions that were put forth in some of its Internet postings about the case.
Actual settlement documents in federal court cases may be kept private. As of 10 a.m., the U.S. District Court in Lexington had no formal minute order on file indicating that the case had been settled, but that paperwork may come in by end of business. So, a June 19 scheduled hearing on the injunction motion will be canceled.
The statement for both parties, e-mailed to media recipients reads:
“The parties have a mutual interest in assuring that consumers perceive their products as distinct.
The parties have mutually resolved the issues addressed in the lawsuit in a manner that eliminates potential confusion about product origin and resolves the lawsuit in a mutually acceptable way.
To the extent West Sixth in any way represented that Magic Hat filed a frivolous lawsuit, that Magic Hat initiated litigation improperly, that Magic Hat was unresponsive in negotiating a resolution, that Cerveceria Costa Rica was itself involved in the dispute or its resolution, that Magic Hat claimed ownership of the numeral 6, that Magic Hat sued West Sixth after West Sixth had already acceded to its demands, that Magic Hat has no Vermont presence, or that Magic Hat sought to recover for or enjoin West Sixth from truthful public statements, such representations are retracted. West Sixth regrets that it in any manner communicated any inaccuracies, and hereby corrects those errors.”
Both Magic Hat and West Sixth have agreed that this joint statement will be the last.
