CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Logistics payments and data infrastructure platform PayCargo has won its trademark infringement and breach of contract lawsuit against CargoSprint and its founder/CEO Joshua Wolf, following an appeal.
PayCargo was awarded and collected a total of $16,395,683.90, inclusive of damages, attorneys’ fees, prejudgment interest and costs, according to a news release.
The judge in the United States District Court of Florida had earlier issued her findings of facts and conclusions of law on Sept. 30, 2022, holding CargoSprint liable for “willful, pervasive and relentless” infringement of PayCargo’s federal trademarks and breach of contract.
On Dec. 15, 2022, the court entered a permanent injunction against CargoSprint, enjoining them from using the PayAirCargo name in commerce, social media and other contexts.
A day later, the court entered final judgment against CargoSprint, awarding PayCargo $15,191,277.50, comprised of $11,591,277.50 in damages, $3,531,630.00 in attorneys’ fees and prejudgment interest and $68,370.00 in costs, the news release notes.
During the trial, the federal district court twice found CargoSprint in contempt of court, once for submitting fabricated financial records to the court.
CargoSprint appealed PayCargo’s victory at trial to the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
In April 2024, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the trial court’s decision. CargoSprint elected not to further appeal the appellate court’s decision, thus definitively concluding the matter in PayCargo’s favor.
On May 28, 2024, CargoSprint paid PayCargo $16,395,683.90 in satisfaction of the judgment.
In 2016, PayCargo reached a settlement agreement with Wolf and his company PayAirCargo to cease commercial use of the name and change it to CargoSprint.
In 2019, PayCargo filed its federal civil suit because the defendants continued to use the confusingly similar PayAirCargo name. In finding that Wolf and CargoSprint infringed on PayCargo’s trademarks and breached the agreement, the court explained: “Customers and vendors alike expressed confusion over whether the two competitors were a single entity.”
“We’re extremely gratified with the court’s decision,” said Mitchell Baxt, vice chairman of PayCargo. “As a company founded on the highest principles of honesty and transparency, we have taken very seriously this case of another business infringing on our trademarks and breaching our agreement. We’ve worked hard to build PayCargo’s reputation as the leader in the industry, so we owed it to our customers, employees, and business partners to defend it vigorously. Furthermore, the integrity of the industry needs to be protected to continuously advance and innovate.”
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
