Court rules for Tivoli Homes, Start to Finish in Medallion Home lawsuit
In December 2014, Medallion Home Gulf Coast Inc. filed a lawsuit in federal court against Tivoli Homes of Sarasota Inc. and Start to Finish Drafting LLC, alleging the companies used a Medallion Home architectural drawing without permission, according to court documents.
A judgment in favor of Tivoli and Start to Finish was affirmed last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit.
Carlos Beruff is CEO of Medallion Home Gulf Coast Inc., a Sarasota-based company. Beruff is running against incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 election.
“The victories, both at the trial court and appellate levels, represent full vindication for our clients,” Christopher Staine said in a statement. Staine is a construction attorney who, along with Duane Daiker, represented Tivoli and Start to Finish in the suit under the auspices of business law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP. “We are pleased that both the District Court and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal meticulously scrutinized the testimony and evidence before them and arrived at what we believed to be the only appropriate and just conclusion – that neither Tivoli Homes of Sarasota nor Start to Finish Drafting committed any wrongdoing.”
According to the release, while noting certain similarities between Medallion Homes Gulf Coast’s architectural drawings and the drawings used in connection with the Tivoli Homes of Sarasota’s project, the U.S. District Court found that “at the level of protected expression, the differences between the designs are so significant that no reasonable fact finder could determine that the works were substantially similar.”
“The 11th Circuit Court’s decision helps to further clarify federal law relating to infringement claims for copyrighted housing plans and will serve as guidance for future litigants facing similar issues,” Daiker said in the statement.
This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Court rules for Tivoli Homes, Start to Finish in Medallion Home lawsuit."