MOODY, Texas — Moody Independent School District agreed to pay more than $334,000 in taxpayer funds toward legal defense it sought following a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the district in 2023.
According to the minutes of a board meeting held on June 10, Moody ISD agreed to pay a total of $334,774.79 to Baker Bolts LLP, which is a law firm based in Houston.
In the minutes, it states that Moody ISD was "forced to expend taxpayer funds for legal defense against the suit filed by the community member."
It continues that, "in an effort to limit spending additional taxpayer money, intended for the purpose of educating the students of Moody ISD, on potentially costly litigation, the District reached an agreement to resolve all pending claims."
Back on Dec. 10, 2023, Moody resident John Price filed a lawsuit against Moody ISD, Superintendent Andrew Miller and the Bearcat Athletic Booster Club, alleging that the district used his "MCLAW" logo in their school branding without his permission.
Price argued that he created the "MCLAW" logo back in 2009 and printed it on clothing for his two sons while they were students within the district. According to the lawsuit, Price "first became aware" of the "unauthorized use" of the logo in October 2011 when he saw hoodies bearing the design at a football game.
"Plaintiff alleges, without detail, that he 'immediately protested' the alleged 'counterfeit hoodies'" and that the "the hoodies were manufactured by a 'third-party screen printer' commissioned by the Booster Club," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the Booster Club printed the logo again in October 2014 without his permission, and continued to do so "over the course of the following eight years." The lawsuit also states Price went to Moody ISD, Miller and the Booster Club in "protest," yet they "recklessly ignored Price's complaints."
Price later filed an application for copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office on Aug. 17, 2022, which was officially approved on Sept. 21, 2022, according to the lawsuit.
"[Price] alleges that Moody ISD filed an application for trademark registration of the MCLAW DESIGN... on Aug. 23, 2022 and that Mr. Miller 'fraudulently identified' Moody ISD as the owner of the MCLAW DESIGN mark," according to the lawsuit.
On Feb. 8, Moody ISD and Miller filed a motion to have a judge dismiss Price's lawsuit, claiming that his copyright claims are time-barred by statute of limitations "which requires claims to be brought within three years" of said infringement. The lawsuit also dismisses his other infringement claims because they fail specific details, including what "'specific acts' 'each defendant' committed and when each defendant allegedly committed them."
District Judge Alan D. Albright ended up granting the motion to dismiss Price's first amendment complaint in March.
According to court records, all sides agreed to settle the case on April 15, 2024. The terms of that settlement were not disclosed.
When asked for more information, Moody ISD responded to 6 News with the following statement:
"This issue has been resolved. We do not have any further comment on the matter."
Moody ISD also referred to the minutes for further comment. In them, Moody ISD stressed how the district "does not admit fault in the related mater and instead prioritized resolving the matter quickly to return focus to the students of Moody ISD."
6 News attempted to reach the attorneys listed in the court filing for Price, the school district and the booster club but as of the time this article was published, we had not received a response.
Stay with 6 News as this story develops.
More from 6 News:
