Legas Battles (Page 1)
Legal Battles Continued...
Upon reconsideration as directed by the Second Circuit, this court adheres to its earlier decisions
granting summary judgment to plaintiffs denying summary judgment to defendant, and ordering
cancellation of the defendant Herb Reed?s service mark in ?The Platters.?  Those decisions are hereby
ordered reinstated.  An Amended Judgment will be entered which will reflect the amendment directed
by the Second Circuit.
The Clerk of Court is directed to transmit a copy of this decision to the Clerk of the Second Circuit and
to arrange for transmission of the record as supplemented to that Court.


After his success in that action, Reed turned around and sued Bennett for the rights to the name and
applied for his own  trademark.  On February 1, 2001, the United States District Court of the Eastern
District of New York held that Herb Reed was enjoined from interfering with The Five Platters, Inc.
use of the name ?The Platters? and that Reed could only use the name ?Herb Reed and the Platters.?  
Reed appealed and won rights.  On November 1, 2002, United States District Judge, Nina Gershon,
made the following decision:
Conclusion
Monroe Powell
In 1995, in what can only be described as a tangle of mis-communication, misrepresentation, and greed
on the part of those who had never before been involved, Monroe Powell and Jean Bennett went their
separate ways.  Powell too, despite the non-complete clause in his contract, continued to perform as
The Platters and was sued.  He lost the breech of contract suit, and The Five Platters, Inc was awarded
just under one million dollars.  Powell continued to perform and was fined on two occasions for
contempt of court.  He appealed the court?s decision. and in October 2002,  he and Bennett went into
arbitration.  They agreed that after 30 years they should not disagree and attempted to renew their
friendship..
Our Mission: Protecting the Past, Celebrating the Present, Commanding
the Future, One generation at a time.