Waugh v. Anheuser-Busch Inbev ( 2010 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
BRIAN KEITH WAUGH, :
:
Plaintiff, :
:
v. : Civil Action No. 09-0250 (JR)
:
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV, et al., :
:
Defendants. :
MEMORANDUM
Brian Keith Waugh, plaintiff pro se, alleges copyright
infringement and civil conspiracy claims against defendants
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc.1; Nike, Inc.; American Sporting
Goods Corporation; and Adidas International, Inc. He sued the
same parties, except for Adidas, in 2008. 1:08-cv-01571 RMU. He
voluntarily dismissed that complaint. Defendants Nike and
Anheuser-Busch now move to dismiss, arguing, among other things,
that Mr. Waugh’s claims are time-barred. They are correct, and
their motions to dismiss will be granted.
Mr. Waugh’s complaint is difficult to follow, but it
appears to allege that, in 1997, the defendants’ shoe designs
began infringing on one of his copyrighted sketches, and that,
during this time, all the defendants engaged in a conspiracy to
discriminate against him through their advertisements.
1
Mr. Waugh has incorrectly named this party as
“Anheuser-Busch InBev.”
Mr. Waugh did not file his complaint within the three-
year statute of limitations for his copyright infringement claim,
17 U.S.C. § 507(b), or the three-year statute of limitations for
his conspiracy claim. See, e.g., Zandford v. National Ass’n of
Securities Dealers, Inc., 30 F. Supp. 2d 1, 21 (D.D.C. 1998). By
his own admission, Mr. Waugh was aware of the alleged
infringement and conspiracy in 1997, but he did not file his
complaint until eleven years later. Mr. Waugh offers no reason
why the applicable statutes of limitations should be tolled.
The motions to dismiss of Nike and Anheuser-Busch will
be granted. American Sporting Goods and Adidas were never
served, and plaintiff’s complaint will be dismissed as to those
parties pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(m).
An appropriate order accompanies this memorandum.
JAMES ROBERTSON
United States District Judge
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