Circuit of the Americas sues over a Garages of the Americas pitch deck: complaint allegations

What was filed

The docket lists a complaint filed on September 29, 2026, as Document 1, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The plaintiff is Circuit of the Americas LLC. The named defendants are Gregory W. Seitz, O. David McGinnis, and John H. Lang, II. The case is No. 1:26-cv-02745, assigned to Judge Andrew B. Davis. The docket lists nature of suit 840 Trademark. It also records a notice that copyright form AO 121 was forwarded to the Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, and it shows summonses issued on September 30, 2026, as to the three named defendants. The docket does not show a judgment. The complaint demands a jury trial.

What the complaint alleges

The complaint says Circuit of the Americas LLC is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Austin, Texas. It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants are individuals purporting to do business as Teton Solutions, LLC and/or Teton Parking Solutions, a business located in Dallas, Texas. It alleges that COTA owns the marks CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS, COTA, the Flame Logo, and the outline of the COTA track, that it has registered and applied to register them, and that it uses them for racing events, including the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, and for other sporting, entertainment, and merchandise uses. The complaint's table lists eight registrations and two applications, including Registration No. 4,386,191 for CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS, dated August 20, 2013, in Class 41; Registration No. 4,310,353 for the Flame Logo, dated March 26, 2013, in Class 25; CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS Registration Nos. 4,440,308, 4,350,635, and 4,259,319; COTA Registration No. 7,976,191 and Registration Nos. 7,976,192 and 7,976,193, each dated October 7, 2025, in Class 41; and Application Nos. 99026484, for COTA, and 99026501, each dated February 3, 2025. It alleges a copyright registration, U.S. Copyright Reg. No. VA 1-880-885, in the design of the COTA track.

It alleges that in or around April 2026, Teton promoted to potential investors an automated parking and storage facility, with a showroom and event space, to be built near COTA's facilities, and that an investor pitch deck used the COTA marks and the copyrighted track drawing. It alleges that the deck linked the Flame Logo with the names GARAGES OF THE AMERICAS AUTOMATED AUTO AND SELF-STORAGE FACILITY and GARAGES OF THE AMERICAS AT COTA, and that the deck suggests the facility is affiliated with COTA. It alleges that the use is likely to dilute the distinctiveness of the COTA marks, but it pleads no dilution count. Count I alleges federal trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114(1). Count II alleges federal unfair competition under § 1125(a). Count III alleges copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501. Count IV alleges Texas common-law trademark infringement and unfair competition. Count V alleges unjust enrichment under Texas common law. The prayer seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction, recall and destruction of materials bearing the marks, a sworn compliance report, and monetary relief, including profits, damages, treble or statutory damages, and attorney's fees. That is a prayer for relief. A court has not granted it.

A complaint is not a ruling

None of this is a finding. A newly filed complaint tells you what Circuit of the Americas alleges about its marks, its track drawing, and a Garages of the Americas pitch deck. It does not tell you that the defendants infringed, competed unfairly, or were unjustly enriched. The court has not decided the case.