The Bombay High Court has refused footwear giant Metro Brands Limited permission to combine its trademark infringement and passing-off claims against a Kerala-based company, Met Brands Private Limited, in a single suit before it.
Justice Gauri Godse held that since the cause of action and the defendant's business both lie in Kerala, the plaintiff cannot use its Mumbai registered office alone to drag the dispute to this court.
Background of the Case
Metro Brands, which runs 895 stores across 203 cities including 18 outlets in Kerala, filed a suit accusing Met Brands Private Limited of infringing its registered trademark "METRO" by using the name "METBRANDS" for its clothing, footwear and bags business. Since the alleged passing-off had occurred entirely in Kerala, beyond this court's territorial reach, Metro Brands sought leave under Clause 14 of the Letters Patent to club that cause of action with the infringement claim, relying on its Mumbai registered address to justify filing here.
Arguments in Court
Counsel for Metro Brands argued that a company's registered office is treated as its principal place of business, entitling it to sue wherever that office is located, and cited earlier rulings including the Supreme Court's judgment in Sanjay Dalia to support joining both claims in Mumbai.
Met Brands opposed this, calling itself a small Kerala-based entity with no real connection to Mumbai. Its counsel argued that forcing the company to defend itself far from home would cause serious hardship, and that Metro Brands' own admission of running 18 stores in Kerala undercut its claim that all business control rested solely in Mumbai.
Court's Observation
Justice Godse noted that Metro Brands had nowhere pleaded that its principal place of business was exclusively Mumbai. The judge observed that where a company operates from multiple locations, it must choose either the forum where it resides or where the cause of action actually arose - it cannot pick a distant location simply because a registered office sits there while ignoring where the dispute genuinely originated.
The court found that both the infringement and passing-off claims, on the plaintiff's own pleadings, pointed squarely to Kerala.
Decision
The High Court dismissed the Leave Petition, holding that the balance of convenience favoured trial in Kerala, where the cause of action arose and the defendant operates.
Metro Brands has been left free to pursue appropriate legal remedies in accordance with law.
