Federal Judge Issues Response to Second Motion to Enforce Injunction

On Tuesday, October 27, U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion granting in part the Second Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by the Diocese of South Carolina on September 10 of this year, in which the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church alleged 27 violations of the Court’s previous order. The Court found the disassociated diocese in civil contempt for their use of the mark “Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” to apply for and obtain a federal loan from the Small Business Administration.
 
In his order, Judge Gergel noted that the defendants attempted to argue that the recent ruling by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson in June 2020, addressing the South Carolina Supreme Court final judgment from August 2017, made this usage permissible. However, Judge Gergel ruled that the recent “decision does no such thing, stating in relevant part that ‘the Federal Court has exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the trademarks, service marks, and intellectual property.’” With this basis, Judge Gergel found that this usage did violate the Court’s order and that the “Defendants continue to attempt to claim the goodwill and history of the TECSC’s organization.”
 
As for the other violations, the Defendants (the disassociated diocese), responded to the motion in September by admitting to and correcting 25 of the violations, involving the usage of “Diocese of South Carolina” or “Diocese of SC”; “1785”; “14th Bishop” or “XIV Bishop”; and the “Diocesan Shield” or the “Episcopal Shield” on the disassociated diocese’s website and those of member congregations. Judge Gergel, therefore, “denied as moot” those allegations. As to the usage of the terms “2009 Convention” and “2008 Consecration” which the defendants have used on their website to describe their current bishop as being “consecrated the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina on January 26, 2008” (four years prior to the founding of their organization), the Court found these usages do not violate the Injunction.
 
Judge Gergel noted that since the Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church have not requested sanctions or identified any financial impact, “the Court will enforce its finding of civil contempt through an order enjoining the noncompliant act described” in the Order.