Stone Brewing Co. v. MillerCoors LLC

Dollar Amount: $56 million

Case Name: Stone Brewing Co v. MillerCoors LLC

Type of Case: Trademark infringement

Court: Southern District

Judge(s): U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez

Plaintiff Lawyers: BraunHagey & Borden LLP, J. Noah Hagey, Jeffrey M. Theodore, Douglas S. Curran, Forrest Arthur Hainline III, J. Tobias Rowe, Katie Kushnir

Defense Lawyers: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Christopher T. Casamassima, Vinita Ferrera; Crowell & Moring LLP, Kent B. Goss, Valerie M. Goo; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Jonathan C. Bunge, Daniel R. Lombard

The battle between craft brewers and major corporate players over the $125 billion U.S. beer market took a turn for the little guy when lawyers for Stone Brewing Co. LLC won a $56 million jury award on its trademark claims against industry giant MillerCoors LLC's Keystone Light economy brew.

Jeffrey M. Theodore

J. Noah Hagey and his BraunHagey & Borden LLP colleagues sued MillerCoors (now Molson Coors), alleging that MillerCoors' 2017 rebranding of its Keystone Light products to emphasize the word "Stone" violated Stone Brewing's registered trademark. Stone Brewing Co. v. MillerCoors LLC, 18-cv-00331 (S.D. Cal., filed Feb. 12, 2018).

"They even launched an 'Own the Stone' campaign," Hagey said. "Their brand was dramatically failing, and the weight of it was dragging down Molson's portfolio. Executives at Molson recognized that consumers were switching to craft beers like Stone. So they decided to go for a Hail Mary and steal one of the most recognized names in craft beer."

Hagey said he was confronting not only a corporate giant but defense lawyers from three major firms: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, Crowell & Moring LLP and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. "We litigated for four years and then tried the case for three weeks. We put in evidence pivotal marketing documents about Keystone's rebranding that contradicted the testimony from their CEO."

Douglas S. Curran

When the MillerCoors' CEO was on the witness stand, Hagey said, "I got him to admit that Keystone was suffering and imperiling Molson, so it needed a name refresh to reverse a decade of decline."

At the trial, the most important and foundational evidence came from documents that contradicted some of the MillerCoors' CEO's testimony, Hagey said.

The jury voted unanimously that MillerCoors had infringed Stone's trademark and awarded the plaintiff $56 million in damages. The court denied all of MillerCoors' post-trial motions.

BraunHagey partner Jeffrey M. Theodore battled the defense over jury instructions and damages. "It took four plus years from filing to verdict in this case, and I explained how the injury to Stone developed over that time," he said.

Katie Kushnir

"It was a wonderful jury, seven women and one man -- not all beer drinkers," Hagey said. "But they understood that Stone's trademark was a real piece of property, like the deed to your house."

Defense lawyers did not return messages seeking comment.

After the trial, Hagey, Theodore and others on the BraunHagey team walked to the Stone Brewing Co. beer garden a few blocks from the San Diego courthouse. "We had a celebration," Hagey said.

--John Roemer