Pasadena: Federal Judge Dismisses All Claims Made by Tournament of Roses

Pasadena City Hall dome (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net).

On Monday, July 12, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of the City of Pasadena in dismissing all claims against it in a lawsuit brought by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.

By News Desk

In a statement to our newsroom, the City said: “The frivolous—and now fully rejected—claims that the City of Pasadena misused or misappropriated the Tournament’s trademarks related to the Rose Bowl Game and that Mayor Victor Gordo engaged in ‘false advertising’ in comments to the media, have now been proven to be ill-conceived and full of egregious assertions.”

The City of Pasadena will now seek to recover the “taxpayer dollars it was forced to spend on defending itself in this litigation,” according to the statement. The City expects to request that the Tournament of Roses Association reimburse the City’s taxpayers for the hundreds of thousands of dollars incurred in having to defend against these claims.

“This lawsuit should have never been filed in the first place,” said Gordo. “The City of Pasadena has been a tremendous partner to the Tournament, and it is appalling that the Tournament took such a significant step over nothing.  We are pleased that the Judge wasted little time in dismissing the claims made entirely.”

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. wrote that:

Plaintiff [the Tournament] and Defendant [the City] have been business partners for decades. Due to this mutually beneficial relationship, Plaintiff has consistently benefitted from Defendant’s promotion of Plaintiff’s game and its history and likely encourages such promotion. As discussed in oral argument, that this claim is being brought now is puzzling to the Court and it is clear that this claim [of trademark/unfair competition] is not the crux of the parties’ conflict.

“Despite all of the legal wrangling, it is my sincere hope that now we can collectively return our focus to New Year’s Day, with an iconic parade and a game that puts Pasadena in the world’s spotlight once again,” said Gordo.

On February 4, 2021, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association filed a lawsuit in order to determine ownership of the “Rose Bowl” and “Rose Bowl Game” trademarks.

[This article has been updated with links to clarify the original lawsuit. July 14, 6:30 am.]