National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

Select Hotel Brokers v. Peter Holmes

Claim Number: FA0708001069904

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Select Hotel Brokers (“Complainant”), represented by Susan E. Colman, of Technology Law Group, 5335 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015.  Respondent is Peter Holmes (“Respondent”), represented by Robert Haupt, of Haupt Brooks Vandruff Cloar, PLLC, 224 East Main Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73104.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME 

The domain name at issue is <selecthotelbrokers.com>, registered with Godaddy.com, Inc.

 

PANEL

The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and, to the best of his knowledge, has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.

 

The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on August 27, 2007; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on August 29, 2007.

 

On August 28, 2007, Godaddy.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <selecthotelbrokers.com> domain name is registered with Godaddy.com, Inc. and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Godaddy.com, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Godaddy.com, Inc. registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).

 

On September 7, 2007, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of September 27, 2007 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts, and to postmaster@selecthotelbrokers.com by e-mail.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on September 27, 2007.

 

On October 4, 2007, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed the Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

1.   Respondent’s <selecthotelbrokers.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s SELECT HOTEL BROKERS mark.

 

2.      Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <selecthotelbrokers.com> domain name.

 

3.      Respondent registered and used the <selecthotelbrokers.com> domain name in bad faith.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent does not contest any of Complainant’s allegations and has agreed to transfer the disputed domain name to Complainant.

 

FINDINGS

Since Respondent has consented to the transfer of the disputed domain name, the Panel will forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the immediate transfer of the domain name.  See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer); see also Disney Enters., Inc. v. Morales, FA 475191 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 24, 2005) (“[U]nder such circumstances, where Respondent has agreed to comply with Complainant’s request, the Panel felt it to be expedient and judicial to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the transfer of the domain names.”).

 

DECISION

Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <selecthotelbrokers.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.), Panelist
Dated: October 15, 2007

 

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