State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Dagoberto Salas
Claim Number: FA1507001627251
Complainant is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Complainant”), represented by Sherri Dunbar of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Illinois, USA. Respondent is Dagoberto Salas (“Respondent”), California, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES
The domain names at issue are <coronastatefarm.com> and <statefarmcorona.com>, registered with Wild West Domains, LLC.
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.
Bruce E. Meyerson as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on July 2, 2015; the Forum received payment on July 2, 2015.
On July 2, 2015, Wild West Domains, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <coronastatefarm.com> and <statefarmcorona.com> domain names are registered with Wild West Domains, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. Wild West Domains, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the Wild West Domains, LLC registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On July 6, 2015, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of July 27, 2015 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@coronastatefarm.com, postmaster@statefarmcorona.com. Also on July 6, 2015, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts.
Having received no response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 31, 2015, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Bruce E. Meyerson as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under Paragraph 2(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent" through submission of Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, the Forum's Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
1. Complainant has registered the STATE FARM mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g., Reg. No. 1,979,585, registered June 11, 1996). The mark is used in connection with underwriting and servicing auto, homeowners, life and fire insurance.
2. The <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names are confusingly similar to the STATE FARM mark because both domain names contain the entire mark and add the generic and/or descriptive term “corona” along with the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.com.”
3. Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests. Respondent is not commonly known as the disputed domain name, nor is Respondent a licensee of Complainant. Further, the domain name resolves to a webpage with a message reading, “Website coming soon,” which shows that Respondent is failing to actively use the domain name.
4. Respondent has engaged in bad faith registration and use. Respondent’s use of the disputed domain names disrupts Complainant’s business. Respondent has also failed to actively use the domain name and had actual knowledge of Complainant’s trademark rights at the time of registration.
5. The <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names were registered on November 17, 2014.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Respondent has consented to the transfer of the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names.
Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable."
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred:
(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
In view of Respondent's failure to submit a response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules. The Panel is entitled to accept all reasonable allegations and inferences set forth in the Complaint as true unless the evidence is clearly contradictory. See Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (holding that the respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of the complaint to be deemed true); see also Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson, D2000-0009 (WIPO Feb. 29, 2000) (“In the absence of a response, it is appropriate to accept as true all allegations of the Complaint.”).
Preliminary Issue: Consent to Transfer
The National Arbitration Forum was copied on documentation submitted from Respondent to the Forum and Complainant, which is identified in this proceeding as “Other Correspondence.” In this document, Respondent purports to consent to the transfer of the domain names. Respondent states as follows:
What
decision I don't want the domains! I don (sic) know how many times must I say
that
Because Respondent has not contested the transfer of the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names but instead agrees to transfer the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names to Complainant, the Panel will forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order an immediate transfer of the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names. 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.”).
The Respondent having consented to the transfer of the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <coronastatefarm.com> and<statefarmcorona.com> domain names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Bruce E. Meyerson, Panelist
Dated: August 10, 2015
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