DECISION

 

West Shore Home, LLC v. Scott Morris

Claim Number: FA2507002167103

 

PARTIES

Complainant is West Shore Home, LLC ("Complainant"), represented by Charles A. Hooker of Hooker & Habib, P.C., Pennsylvania, USA. Respondent is Scott Morris ("Respondent"), Florida, USA.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES

The domain names at issue are <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net>, registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC.

 

PANEL

The undersigned certifies that they have acted independently and impartially and to the best of their knowledge have no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.

 

David S. Safran as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on July 22, 2025; Forum received payment on July 22, 2025.

 

On July 23, 2025, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to Forum that the <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> domain names are registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. GoDaddy.com, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the GoDaddy.com, 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 28, 2025, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of August 18, 2025, 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@westshoresignaturehomes.com and postmaster@westshoresignaturehomes.net. Also on July 28, 2025, 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.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on July 30, 2025.

 

On July 31st, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed David S. Safran, as Panelist.

 

Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that 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.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

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

 

PARTIES' CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Complainant contends that it created the <westshorehome.com> domain in 2015 and has used the domain in association with websites to promote its services for over nine (9) years. Complainant owns three Federal Trademark Registrations, two for WEST SHORE HOME and one for WEST SHORE, all for home remodeling services.  

 

Complainant contends that Respondent's <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> domain names are confusingly similar to its trademarks and domain name since they incorporate the entirety of its trademarks.

 

Complainant contends that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in the Domain Names that are the subject of this Complaint because Respondent is making a commercial, unfair use of the Domain Names to promote its home construction services which overlap with and/or are essentially identical to Complainant's home renovation and home remodeling services.

 

Complainant contends that that Respondent was fully aware of Complainant's rights in its WEST SHORE family of trademarks at the time of Respondent's registration of the Domain Names, and the domains complained of were intentionally to capitalize on upon the Complainant's commercial reputation in the field of home renovation and home remodeling services in order to promote the Respondent's closely-related residential home construction services.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent contends that "West Shore" is descriptive of its location on the West Shore of Florida and that it was not aware of Complainant when it adopted the mark after researching its name. 

 

FINDINGS

Given that Complainant has four locations in the State of Florida, Respondent's contention that it was not aware of Complainant when it adopted the mark after researching its name is not credible. The domain names <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> are confusingly similar to the Complainant's West Shore trademarks. The term "West Shore" is not descriptive of home remodeling and construction services.

 

DISCUSSION

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted and 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.

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

The domain names <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> include the Complainant's WEST SHORE HOME trademark in its entirety. In cases where a domain name incorporates the entirety of a trademark, it has been the view of UDRP panels that the domain name will normally be considered confusingly similar to that mark for purposes of UDRP standing. See Bayerische Motoren Werke AG v. bmwcar.com, WIPO Case No. D2002-0615 ("when a domain name wholly incorporates a complainant's registered mark, that is sufficient to establish confusing similarity for purposes of the Policy"). Therefore, confusing similarity is given where a trademark is recognizable within the domain name. Accordingly, the Panel finds that the domain names complained of are identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Based upon Complainant's senior and continuous use of its WEST SHORE family of trademarks, including at four locations in the Respondent's state, i.e., Florida, and the fact that Respondent admits conducting research of names within Florida, Respondent cannot be said to have legitimately chosen the Domain Names for a closely related use. Thus, the Panel finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain names <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> under Policy Paragraph 4(a)(ii). 

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

The Complainant argues that Respondent registered the domain names <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> with bad faith actual knowledge of Complainant's rights in the West Shore marks. Under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii), actual knowledge is generally sufficient in demonstrating bad faith, and may be established through incorporation of a well-known/registered mark into a domain name. See United States Postal Service v. Yongkun Wang, FA 1788170 (Forum July 11, 2018) (finding Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant's rights in the USPS mark "given the widespread use of Complainant's mark and the fact that Respondent registered four separate domain names all of which include Complainant's USPS mark in its entirety"). The Panel considers it relevant in this respect that the Complainant's marks are wholly incorporated into the domain name, and given the above finding that it was not credible that the Respondent's research would not have revealed the existence of the Complainant.

 

Therefore, the Panel finds that the domain names have been registered and is being used in bad faith under Policy Paragraph 4(a)(iii).

 

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 <westshoresignaturehomes.com> and <westshoresignaturehomes.net> domain names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

David S. Safran, Panelist

Dated: August 11, 2025