Walmart owes $95M in trademark case
A federal judge has approved a jury's verdict that Walmart Inc. must pay more than $95.5 million in damages for using its trademarks to sell grills. Walmart has said it would consider an appeal.
The jury ruled in October that Walmart's Backyard Grill + Design trademark was likely to cause confusion with Variety Stores Inc.'s Backyard and Backyard BBQ trademarks, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. It also ruled that Walmart willfully infringed on Variety's trademarks.
On Feb. 12, the jury awarded Variety more than $45.5 million in royalties and $50 million for profits Walmart earned from sales under the infringing trademark, court records show. In an order filed Thursday, District Judge Terrence W. Boyle found the award "an appropriate and adequate amount."
Walmart said in a statement after the Feb. 12 judgment that the verdict was excessive and the company was "evaluating all our options, including post-trial motions and an appeal."
Variety, based in Henderson, N.C., sells a range of merchandise including lawn and garden equipment and supplies through about 380 stores in the Southeast.
-- Serenah McKay
State's banks hold $107.6B in assets
Arkansas' 93 banks had $107.6 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Thursday in its quarterly banking report.
That's an increase of 10.1 percent compared with $97.7 billion in assets for 93 banks a year earlier.
In the past 10 years, assets have more than doubled from $52.9 billion on Dec. 31, 2008, when there were 143 banks operating in the state. Net income was $1.6 billion in 2018, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier.
Total deposits in 2018 equaled $85.8 billion, up 9.9 percent in the previous year and more than doubled in the past 10 years.
Total loans were $76.1 billion as of Dec. 31, an increase of 13.4 percent in the past year and more than doubled in the past 10 years.
There were 22,562 full-time equivalent employees working at Arkansas-based banks on Dec. 31, up from 21,380 at 97 banks in December 2017 and 17,158 at 143 banks 10 years ago.
-- David Smith
Arkansas Index loses 5.72, ends at 419.92
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 5.72 to 419.92 Thursday.
"Negative economic manufacturing and housing data released this morning moved equities lower as utilities outperformed the broader market while the energy sector lagged," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 44.4 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 02/22/2019