Adidas America, Inc. v. Thom Browne, Inc.

── Adidas America, Inc. v. Thom Browne, Inc. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General 24-1510 Adidas America, Inc. v. Thom Browne, Inc. United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit August Term 2025 Argued: October 28, 2025 Decided: April 29, 2026 No. 24-1510 ADIDAS AMERICA, INC., ADIDAS AG, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. THOM BROWNE, INC., Defendant-Appellee. On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York No. 21-cv-5615 Jed S. Rakoff, Judge. Before: CABRANES, PARK, and ROBINSON, Circuit Judges. Adidas America, Inc., sued Thom Browne, Inc., for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition. A jury found Thom Browne not liable, but adidas later learned that Thom Browne had failed to disclose several relevant emails during discovery. Adidas moved for relief from the final judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(2) and (b)(3), which the district court (Rakoff, J.) denied. We agree with the district court that adidas failed to meet its burden under Rule 60(b)(2) to show that the newly discovered evidence probably would have changed the verdict. Moreover, although Thom Browne’s failure to disclose the emails was negligent, a negligent discovery violation is not “misconduct” under Rule 60(b)(3), so adidas was not entitled to relief. We thus AFFIRM the order of the district court. ADAM H. CHARNES, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Dallas, TX (R. Charles Henn Jr., K. Bradford Sears, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, Atlanta, GA, on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants. ALEXANDRA A.E. SHAPIRO, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, New York, NY (Julian S. Brod, Christopher Johnson, Shapiro Arato Bach LLP, New York, NY; Robert T. Maldonado, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, PC, New York, NY; John L. Strand, John L. Welch, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, PC, Boston, MA; Harley I. Lewin, LewinConsult LLC, Portland, ME, on the brief), for Defendant-Appellee. PARK, Circuit Judge: Adidas America, Inc., sued Thom Browne, Inc., for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition. A jury found Thom Browne not liable, but adidas later learned that Thom Browne had failed to disclose several relevant emails during discovery. Adidas moved for relief from the final judgment under 2 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(2) and (b)(3), which the district court denied. We agree with the district court that adidas failed to meet its burden under Rule 60(b)(2) to show that the newly discovered evidence probably would have changed the verdict. Moreover, although Thom Browne’s failure to disclose the emails was negligent, a negligent discovery violation is not “misconduct” under Rule 60(b)(3), so adidas was not entitled to relief. We thus affirm the order of the district court. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background Adidas is a sportswear manufacturer known for its Three- Stripe Mark: Adidas’s Three-Stripe Mark Thom Browne is a luxury apparel company that uses, among its motifs, the Four-Bar Signature, which consists of four wide horizontal bars, and the Grosgrain, “a pattern of red, white and blue stripes.” Adidas Am., Inc. v. Thom Browne, Inc., 742 F. Supp. 3d 352, 354 (S.D.N.Y. 2024). 3  Thom Brown’s Grosgrain (left) and Four-Bar Signature In 2021, adidas sued Thom Browne for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair