Hamilton area realtor Rob Golfi is off the hook, for now, after a lawsuit filed against him in 2022 by a Minnesota real estate mogul was dismissed by a U.S. federal judge.
The expelled claim was brought forth by Kris Lindahl Real Estate (KLRE) last August and suggested Golfi had stolen “intellectual property.”
Judge Jerry Blackwell dismissed the filing without prejudice, keeping the door open to Lindahl to re-file the case with alterations.
Lindahl was seeking litigation over trademark infringement and breach of contract.
The most “egregious” claim stemmed from a 2019 election campaign spoof advertisement from Lindahl in which he’s surrounded by American flags in an apparent cable news broadcast setting.
Following a patriotic-like address to the camera plugging a “campaign of convenience” guaranteeing offers on homes in 48 hours or less, Lindahl ends it with his arms in an outreached pose.
Golfi made a social media video in 2021 which also used an apparent cable news-like setting with a similar “campaign of convenience” also guaranteeing offers on homes in 48 hours or less.
Lindahl’s accusation is also connected to an online marketing seminar he says he hosted in May 2021 in which Golfi admitted he participated.
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According to Lindahl’s filing, prior to the forum he had Golfi sign an agreement that prohibits “unauthorized use or distribution of the proprietary concepts, materials, and intellectual property” from the seminar.
Golfi told Global News in an interview he’s “not doing the happy dance” just yet with the prospect of a refiling.
“It was great news, but it’s also not the end yet,” Golfi said, he said of the dismissal. “I’m hoping he may not refile because it costs him just as much money as it does me.”
Golfi says his legal team told him that a trademark for the so-called “Lindahl’s pose” was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just three weeks before he was named in a claim.
“His trademark was not done … two years ago, five years ago or anything like that, he filed a trademark and then he filed a lawsuit against me,” Golfi insists.
“So I don’t know what he’s trying to gain from it.”
Global News has reached out to Lathrop GPM LLP, who represents Lindahl Real Estate, on whether they will be refiling the claim but has yet to receive a response as of the publishing of this post.
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