DECISION

 

United Auburn Indian Community v. darell aldor

Claim Number: FA2509002176569

 

PARTIES

Complainant is United Auburn Indian Community ("Complainant"), represented by Lindsey A. McDougall of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP, Nevada, USA. Respondent is darell aldor ("Respondent"), California, USA.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <thundervalleypokerstars.com>, 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.

 

Jeffrey J. Neuman as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on September 11, 2025; Forum received payment on September 11, 2025.

 

On September 15, 2025, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to Forum that the <thundervalleypokerstars.com> domain name is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. 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 September 16, 2025, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of October 6, 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@thundervalleypokerstars.com. Also on September 16, 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 September 24, 2025.

 

On September 24, 2025, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed Jeffrey J. Neuman 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 name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PRELIMINARY ISSUE: CONSENT TO TRANSFER 

The Panel takes note that on September 24, 2025, Forum received a communication from the Respondent stating:

"I, Darell Aldor, the Respondent in this matter, acknowledge receipt of the Complaint filed by United Auburn Indian Community regarding the domain name <thundervalleypokerstars.com>.

 

I do not contest the Complaint. I hereby consent to the immediate transfer of the domain name <thundervalleypokerstars.com> to the Complainant.

 

I respectfully request that the Panel (or Forum) enter an order transferring the domain name to the Complainant without further proceedings."

 

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (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 15(a) of the Rules thus permits a panel to grant a complainant's requested relief without deference to Policy ¶¶ 4(a)ii or 4(a)iii, when a respondent consents to the requested relief. See See Office Depot, LLC and The Office Club, Inc. v. Khalil Shaikh, FA 2020586 (Forum Dec. 14, 2022) (<officedepotfeedback.shop> transferring the domain name registration after also ensuring that Complainant demonstrates that it has rights in a mark that is confusingly similar or identical to the at-issue domain name.). See also Boehringer Ingelheim Int'l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer).

 

In the instant case, Respondent agrees to transfer its at-issue domain name to Complainant. The Panel, noting that the parties agree as to the disposition of the at-issue domain name, follows its rationale set out in Homer TLC, Inc. v. Jacek Woloszuk, FA613637 (Forum May 17, 2015), as well as in other similarly reasoned decisions where the respondent likewise agreed to transfer the at-issue domain name(s) to the complainant. As more fully discussed in the cases referenced immediately above, as a prerequisite to Complainant obtaining its requested relief ‑ even where Respondent agrees to such relief ‑ Complainant must demonstrate that it has rights in a mark that is confusingly similar or identical to the at-issue domain name. Notably, without requiring a prerequisite finding under paragraph 4(a)(i) a Complainant lacking rights in an at-issue domain name might, via the UDRP, acquire such domain name(s) from a Respondent that also has no rights in such domain name(s).

 

Complainant, the United Auburn Indian Community, has established rights in the THUNDER VALLEY CASINO mark through its registration of multiple trademarks containing the term "THUNDER VALLEY" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"), including Registration No. 2,872,370 (issued August 10, 2004) for the mark THUNDER VALLEY CASINO. The term "CASINO" has been disclaimed, confirming that the dominant and distinctive portion of the mark is "THUNDER VALLEY." Registration of a mark with a recognized trademark authority is sufficient to demonstrate rights under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH v. li zilin / QQ869292929, FA 1575562 (Forum  Sept. 23, 2014) (holding that "[t]rademark registrations with a governmental authority are sufficient to prove rights in a mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)"). 

 

The disputed domain name, <thundervalleypokerstars.com>, incorporates the dominant portion of Complainant's THUNDER VALLEY CASINO mark in its entirety, followed by the descriptive terms "poker" and "stars," and the generic top-level domain ".com." These additions are insufficient to distinguish the domain name from Complainant's mark for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Bloomberg Finance L.P. v. Nexperian Holding Limited, FA 1782013 (Forum  June 4, 2018) ("Where a relevant trademark is recognizable within a disputed domain name, the addition of other terms … does not prevent a finding of confusing similarity under the first element."); see also Wiluna Holdings, LLC v. Edna Sherman, FA 1652781 (Forum  Jan. 22, 2016) (finding that the addition of a generic term and gTLD is insufficient to avoid confusing similarity).

 

Moreover, the inclusion of "poker" and "stars" heightens rather than lessens the likelihood of confusion, as these terms directly describe Complainant's casino-related services, including poker offerings. See Media West-DMR et al. v. Phil Nagy, WIPO Case No. D2005-1322 ("Confusion is only heightened when the generic word added by a respondent is descriptive of a complainant's goods or services marketed in relation to the mark."). Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has established the first element of the Policy.

 

In light of Respondent's consent to transfer the disputed domain name, further analysis under Policy ¶¶ 4(a)(ii) and 4(a)(iii) is unnecessary. The Panel therefore orders that <thundervalleypokerstars.com> be transferred to Complainant.

 

DECISION

Having established that the Respondent has consented to the requested relief and that the Complainant has rights to a mark that is identical or confusingly similar to the at-issue domain name, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

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

 

 

 

Jeffrey J. Neuman, Panelist

Dated: October 8, 2025