What was filed
The complaint is Document 1, filed October 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The case is King Auto Sale, Inc. v. King Auto, Inc., No. 1:26-cv-05117, and it includes a jury demand. It pleads five claims: federal unfair competition under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a); federal trademark infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1114; Colorado common-law trademark infringement; Colorado common-law unfair competition; and Colorado deceptive trade practices under C.R.S. § 6-1-105. Counsel is James R. Gourley of Carstens, Allen & Gourley, LLP.
What the complaint alleges
The complaint says King Auto Sale, a Colorado corporation, began offering cars for sale under KING AUTO in 2018, filed a Colorado Statement of Trade Name for KING AUTO on June 27, 2019, and has operated from Denver. It says it obtained U.S. Trademark Registration No. 8,352,406 on July 21, 2026 in Class 35 for "Dealerships in the field of cars," and attaches the registration certificate as Exhibit A (not separately reviewed for this note).
It alleges that on or about April 12, 2026, King Auto, Inc., also a Colorado corporation, began offering and selling cars under KING AUTO without authorization, offering services that compete with the plaintiff. It says the marks and services are identical or substantially similar, that it has evidence of actual consumer confusion, that it receives numerous calls from consumers asking about its "other location" on Havana Street where the defendant operates, and that its Google page has received negative reviews from the defendant's customers. The prayer asks for declaratory relief, a permanent injunction against use of KING AUTO and confusingly similar marks, an accounting of profits under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a)-(b), punitive and exemplary damages, a finding that the case is exceptional under Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act with attorneys' fees, and fees under C.R.S. § 6-1-113(2).