Case: 17-30650 Document: 00514581507 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/01/2018
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 17-30650 August 1, 2018
Lyle W. Cayce
MICHAEL L. SHWARTZ, Clerk
Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
HICHAM KHODR,
Defendant - Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:17-CV-629
Before KING, SOUTHWICK, and HO, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
This is another suit in the long line of litigation regarding the
trademarks associated with Camellia Grill and the second time that the
parties are before this court. See Uptown Grill, L.L.C. v. Shwartz, 817 F.3d
251, 255 (5th Cir. 2016). Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Michael Shwartz operated
the Camellia Grill in New Orleans, Louisiana, through Camellia Grill, Inc.
(“CGI”). Shwartz owned the real property associated with Camellia Grill
himself. Another one of his entities, Camellia Grill Holdings, Inc. (“CGH”), held
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 17-30650 Document: 00514581507 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/01/2018
No. 17-30650
the trademarks associated with Camellia Grill. In August 2006, he sold the
Camellia Grill to Hicham Khodr through three contracts: (1) Shwartz
transferred the real property to Rano, L.L.C. (Khodr’s entity); (2) Shwartz,
CGI, and CGH transferred tangible personal property and certain trademarks
to Uptown Grill, L.L.C. (Khodr’s entity); and (3) CGH gave permission to Grill
Holdings, Inc. (Khodr’s entity), to use the Camellia Grill trademarks. In the
instant action, Shwartz attempts to recover for his claimed loss of the Camellia
Grill trademarks, by alleging fraud and misrepresentation during the transfer
of the Camellia Grill to Khodr’s entities. Shwartz originally filed his complaint
in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi; that district
court then transferred the matter to the Eastern District of Louisiana. The
transferee district court then dismissed Shwartz’s claims, reasoning that he
lacked standing to bring his claims. As CGH—not Shwartz—owned the
Camellia Grill trademarks, CGH—not Shwartz—sustained the alleged injury.
Therefore, Shwartz did not have standing to bring this action. Accordingly, we
affirm the district court’s dismissal.
AFFIRMED.
2