Everest Capital Limited, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. Everest Funds Management, L.L.C.; Everest Funds; Vinod Gupta; Everest Investment Management, L.L.C., Defendants - Appellees., 393 F.3d 755

Summary

The Bermuda advisor, which handled only very large investments for very wealthy clients, asserted claims under various provisions of § 43 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 1125, the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 59-1601 et seq., the Nebraska Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 87-301 et seq., and Nebraska common law. The Omaha advisor primarily handled the smaller investments of individual defendant, his family and associates. Neither advisor had been granted federal registration of its trademark. A jury returned a verdict of no liability on all claims, and the district court denied a post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b). Because the jury returned essentially a general verdict of no trademark infringement, the only issue on appeal was whether the record as a whole, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, contained sufficient evidence supporting that verdict. Given the evidence that ...