Tournament of Roses Drops Part of Its Lawsuit Against the City

Pasadena Now has learned that the Tournament of Roses has dropped its slander lawsuit against the city.

In documents filed with the court on Tuesday the group said that the case is now moot because the city has acknowledged that the tournament does own the trademarks associated with the Rose Bowl Game.

“The Tournament sued as a last resort because the City gave no indication that it would stop spreading inaccurate claims of trademark ownership,” the court filing states, “When the Tournament objected to the City’s conduct— including the specific false statements the City made in the New York Times article that are the subject of the City’s special motion to strike—the City brushed off [and did not deny] the allegations and rebuffed the Tournament’s request that the parties meet to discuss their disagreements.

“Between the publication of that article and until the City’s filing of its special motion to strike, the City never—publicly or privately—corrected the record and acknowledged that the trademark rights relating to the Rose Bowl Game belong exclusively to the Tournament. Only as a result of this litigation has the City recently acknowledged in its filings with this Court the unambiguous and objective truth: The trademarks at issue belong to the Tournament and the Tournament alone.”

In the filings, the tournament said it  “Accepts the City’s belated but clear retreat from claiming ownership interests in the Rose Bowl Game and the Tournament’s associated intellectual property.”

A tournament official told Pasadena Now that they were unable to comment on active litigation. The slander allegation was the only one removed from the eight causes of action. City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris said the complaint had been amended and added that the vast majority of the lawsuit remains.

The Tournament is suing the city for trademark infringement, unfair competition, false association, slander, and false advertising.

The relationship between the tournament and the city turned sour after the College Football Playoffs decided to move the game to Arlington, Texas.

The Tournament promised to gift the city $2 million over three years.

In letters obtained by Pasadena Now, attorneys for the city say city officials discovered the game was moving and would retain the rights to the Rose Bowl Game name on a crawl during a televised UCLA Game.

Originally it was reported that use of the Rose Bowl Game name could only be transferred by a City Council vote.

But the city agreed to the use of the name without a vote by the City Council vote.

The Tournament of Roses told Pasadena Now earlier this month that there are no plans to move the game out of Pasadena, but instead the group is “reaffirming its rights.”

However in a response to the original lawsuit, the city said the Tournament of Roses wants a court of law to assure it that it can move the Rose Bowl Game.

“It is an attempt by the Tournament to ask the Court to allow it to redraft the Master License Agreement for future, hypothetical events that might never happen,” the city said in a statement afte the lawsuit was filed. “The fact is, the current agreement between the parties does not allow the Rose Bowl Game to be played anywhere but in Pasadena for any reason, unless the City consents, like it did this year as a good-faith partner during extraordinary times.”

The Master Lease Agreement lays out the agreement between the city and the tournament regarding the game and the parade.

Despite the devolving relationship both sides maintain they are looking forward to 2022 when the Rose Bowl Game and the Tournament of Roses Parade are scheduled to be held in Pasadena.

According to that document, the tournament is obligated to hold the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena on Jan. 1 unless a force majeure event occurs.

As part of an amendment to the MLA, the Tournament will pay the city $2 million.

A force majeure, or superior force clause, relieves parties from performing their contractual obligations when certain circumstances beyond their control arise.

According to the Tournament, the CFP declared a force majeure, but the city’s attorneys said they have not been able to confirm that.