SPTC, Inc. and SPTC
Claim Number: FA0810001231161
PARTIES
Complainant is SPTC, Inc. and SPTC
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <sothebyhomes.com>, registered with Compana, LLC.
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.
James A. Carmody, Esq., as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum
electronically on October 27, 2008; the
National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on October 28, 2008.
On October 29, 2008, Compana, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the
National Arbitration Forum that the <sothebyhomes.com> domain name is
registered with Compana, LLC and that the
Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Compana, LLC
has verified that Respondent is bound by the Compana,
LLC 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 October 30, 2008, a Notification
of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement
Notification”), setting a deadline of November 19, 2008 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@sothebyhomes.com by e-mail.
A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on November 19, 2008.
On November 26, 2008, pursuant to Complainant’s
request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National
Arbitration Forum appointed James A. Carmody, Esq., as Panelist.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from
Respondent to Complainant.
PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <sothebyhomes.com> domain name, the domain name at issue, is confusingly similar to Complainant’s SOTHEBY family of marks.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the domain name at issue.
3. Respondent registered and used the domain name at issue in bad faith.
B. Respondent consents to transfer of the domain name at issue to Complainant without
admitting any of
the elements of 4(a) of the Policy.
FINDINGS
Preliminary Issue: Consent to Transfer
Respondent,
in its Response, consents to transfer the <sothebyhomes.com>
domain name to Complainant. However, after the initiation of this
proceeding, Compana LLC placed a hold on Respondent’s account and therefore
Respondent cannot transfer the disputed domain name while this proceeding is
still pending. The Panel finds that, in a circumstance such as
this, where Respondent has not contested the transfer of the disputed domain
name but instead agrees to transfer the domain name in question to Complainant,
it will forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order an immediate transfer of
the disputed 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 Malev Hungarian
Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Nat Arb. Forum Jan. 13,
2004) (“In this case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be
transferred to the Complainant . . . Since the requests of the parties in
this case are identical, the Panel has no scope to do anything other than to
recognize the common request, and it has no mandate to make findings of fact or
of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”); 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
Accordingly, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED, and it is Ordered that the <sothebyhomes.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED
from Respondent to Complainant.
James A. Carmody, Esq., Panelist
Dated: December 5, 2008
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