Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem Inc. v. Grady

BEFORE: ENGLE, MERRITT and KRUPANSKY, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam. In this Lanham Act case arising from a dispute between two factions of an alleged ancient fraternal order, the plaintiff appeals an order denying a preliminary injunction and staying the district court's proceedings pending the outcome of a related action in court in Pennsylvania. On appeal the plaintiff has failed to make any showing that the district court abused its discretion in denying the preliminary injunction. The plaintiff has not pointed to any evidence before us on appeal which demonstrates that defendants have appropriated a trade or collective mark which belongs to plaintiff or that there is a likelihood of success on the merits, and neither has it demonstrated public confusion over the matter or irreparable injury. We find that plaintiff has not met the standard required to reverse a district court's action in refusing to issue a preliminary injunction. Plaintiff has also failed to show that the district court abused its discretion in staying the proceedings before it pending a disposition by the court in Pennsylvania.