California Apparel News

The fight between rival retro-clothing makers Stop Staring! Designs and Bettie Page Clothing is poised to continue.

A federal judge in Los Angeles granted a motion for a new trial in the dispute between Paramount, Calif.–based Stop Staring, which filed suit against Las Vegas–based Tatyana LLC, owner of the Bettie Page apparel brand.
In November a jury awarded Stop Staring $500,000 after hearing arguments in a trade-dress dispute with the owners of the Bettie Page Clothing brand.

At issue was Bettie Page’s pink and green website, which, Stop Staring argued, too closely resembled its own, allegedly creating confusion among consumers who believed there was an affiliation between the two companies. (Stop Staring has since changed the look of its website and marketing materials.)

According to a memorandum filed Feb. 21 with the U.S District Court, Judge Dale S. Fischer ruled that “the court finds that the jury’s verdict is contrary to the clear weight of the evidence and possibly resulted from the erroneous admission of evidence by the court.”

The court questioned the admissibility of the testimony of Robert Wunderlich, a damages expert called by Stop Staring. Also at issue is “the link between any trade-dress infringement and loss to [Stop Staring] or unjust gain by [Bettie Page Clothing],” according to court documents.

Jan Glaser, who co-owns Bettie Page Clothing with his wife, Tatyana Khomyakova, said he was very happy about the judge’s decision. Bettie Page attorney Peter Afrasiabi, with One LLP in Newport Beach, Calif., said the judge’s decision “vindicates” his client. “Stop Staring’s case has always been exceedingly weak, if not frivolous, and is really a case about a disgruntled company that does not like the emergence of a new competitor in the vintage women’s dress market,” he said.

Alicia Estrada, founder and designer of Stop Staring, declined to comment and requested California Apparel News contact her attorneys, Peter W. Ross and Keith J. Wesley, with Los Angeles–based Browne Woods George LLP. Neither could be reached by press time.—Alison A. Nieder