Just Play, LLC v. A Romantic Jewellery Store, et al.

Background

Just Play, LLC brought claims under the federal trademark statute, known as the Lanham Act, for trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, and unfair competition. It also asserted unfair competition under New York common law, based on alleged infringement of the Shrinky Dinks Mark.

Just Play initially sued 35 defendants, described in the complaint as merchants on the Alibaba and/or AliExpress online marketplace platforms who sold counterfeit copies of Just Play’s product. Just Play later voluntarily dismissed 32 defendants. The case continued against Hongzhida Packaging (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Ningbo Haishu Wenyue Package Product Co., Ltd., and Ningbo Joyrelax Plastic Co., Ltd., which the opinion calls the “Defaulting Defendants.”

The court previously granted a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction. On May 16, 2024, it entered a Final Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction Order against the Defaulting Defendants. That judgment granted relief on the first and second causes of action—trademark counterfeiting and trademark infringement—and dismissed the third and fourth causes of action without prejudice.

Report and Recommendation

The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Robyn F. Tarnofsky for an inquest concerning the amount of the default judgment. On February 10, 2025, Judge Tarnofsky recommended an award of $50,000 against each of the three Defaulting Defendants, totaling $150,000, plus post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a).

The Report and Recommendation gave the parties 14 days to file written objections and warned that failing to object would waive objections and prevent appellate review. No objections or requests for additional time were filed. The Defaulting Defendants also did not appear at the May 16, 2024 show-cause hearing on the default-judgment motion.

Court’s Ruling

Because no timely objections were filed, Judge Rearden reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error rather than conducting a fresh review of the disputed issues. The court stated that the Defaulting Defendants waived judicial review by failing to object, and it independently reviewed the recommendation but found no clear error.

Judge Rearden adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The court awarded Just Play $50,000 against Hongzhida Packaging (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., $50,000 against Ningbo Haishu Wenyue Package Product Co., Ltd., and $50,000 against Ningbo Joyrelax Plastic Co., Ltd., plus post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a). The Clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and close the case. Just Play was ordered to serve the order on each Defaulting Defendant by September 22, 2025, and file an affidavit confirming service.