MIAMI – Oct. 18, 2022 – KRF Capital LLC, represented by a team of Greenberg Traurig, P.A. attorneys led by Miami office Shareholder James E. Gillenwater, recently prevailed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit brought by Scottish professional soccer team Rangers International Football Club PLC (Rangers).
On Oct. 13, after two months of legal briefing and just hours after KRF Capital filed its reply in support of a motion to dismiss Rangers’ trademark infringement claims, Rangers voluntarily dismissed its own lawsuit.
Gillenwater noted that Rangers’ decision to dismiss is significant, given that it initiated the lawsuit in August with an emergency temporary restraining order motion asserting that it had the evidence to establish a clear likelihood of success on its claims and that it was suffering irreparable harm. At that time, KRF Capital (dba K Sports Capital) had been in discussions with certain Rangers’ shareholders to lawfully acquire an ownership stake in the club and Rangers’ board filed suit under the Lanham Act based on the untenable premise that Rangers was “not for sale.” After multiple rounds of briefing in which KRF Capital pointed out the factual and legal deficiencies of Rangers’ claims—including that Rangers is a UK public company with freely transferable shares—the club was forced to withdraw many of its allegations before ultimately dropping the case.
“I have always been, and will continue to be, open and transparent with Rangers’ board, shareholders, and investors,” said KRF Capital’s Principal Kyle Fox, a Miami-based investment professional, who previously served as the Global Head of Capital Markets at HIG Capital. “I look forward to putting the lawsuit behind us and continuing to explore opportunities to bring value to the Rangers organization, its loyal fans, investors, and other stakeholders through KRF Capital’s proposed acquisition of a significant ownership interest in the club.”
Gillenwater added, “We were committed to fighting these wrongful accusations against Ms. Fox and confident that she would be vindicated, as she was by Rangers’ withdrawal of all its claims.”
KRF Capital is a leading global investment firm that provides innovation and strategic value to a diverse client base by leveraging its access to strategic capital and innovative technologies to foster scalable growth across sports, media, deep tech, renewable energy, and real assets.
Gillenwater has represented clients such as Fortune 100 companies, world leaders, and Olympians in high-stakes international disputes. His diverse litigation practice spans commercial and securities class actions, business disputes, intellectual property matters, and products liability cases.
Greenberg Traurig attorneys representing KRF Capital in addition to Gillenwater include Corporate Practice Shareholder Cynthia A. Marian and Litigation Practice Associates Jessica Johnson Fishfeld and Gabriel A. Diaz.