Viking Heating and Air Conditioning sues Viking Tucson and affiliates over VIKING HVAC branding in Arizona

What was filed

The complaint is Document 1, filed October 20, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The case is Viking Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC v. Viking Tucson, LLC et al., No. 4:26-cv-00558-JGZ, and the docket shows it assigned to Judge Jennifer G. Zipps. The plaintiff demands a jury. The docket shows summonses issued on October 21, 2026, and a return of service filed on October 27, 2026.

The parties and the VIKING brand

The plaintiff is Viking Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company based in Chandler, Arizona, that the complaint says provides residential and commercial HVAC installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and related services throughout Arizona, including Tucson. It says it has continuously used VIKING in Arizona for those services since at least March 10, 2016, with a stylized horned-V logo and a red, white, and blue color scheme it calls its trade dress. It also asserts pending U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 99896316 for a horned-V design with the wording HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING for HVAC services in International Class 37, published in the Official Gazette on September 15, 2026. USPTO TSDR lists Viking Heating and Air Conditioning LLC as the applicant and owner, shows the application filed on June 21, 2026, with a claimed first use of March 10, 2016, and shows a petition to make special granted on August 11, 2026. The only wording in the applied-for mark is HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING, which the application disclaims.

What the complaint alleges

The named defendants are Viking Tucson, LLC d/b/a Viking Cooling & Heating, a Delaware limited liability company registered in Arizona that the complaint says markets HVAC services in Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, and nearby communities; Viking Holdings, Inc., a California corporation that the complaint alleges, on information and belief, owns Viking Tucson's Arizona Registrar of Contractors license and authorized the challenged branding; and Viking California, Inc., a California corporation that the complaint says is an HVAC contractor under common management with the other two defendants and alleges, on information and belief, participates in the common VIKING brand, website, and marketing. It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants' brand originated in California in 2025 and entered Arizona in 2026. It says the defendants market the same HVAC services under VIKING AIR and VIKING COOLING & HEATING through vikingair.net and related advertising, with a horned-V logo and overlapping red, white, and blue presentations. It alleges actual consumer confusion, including an August 11, 2026, call complaining about a truck that the complaint alleges, on information and belief, belonged to the defendants, and a September 10, 2026, call from a consumer who thought vikingair.net belonged to the plaintiff. It also says a September 24, 2026, search for Viking HVAC in Tucson showed the defendants' business first under a "Temporarily closed" label, which it says is likely to make consumers think the plaintiff is closed. It says the plaintiff gave written notice of its rights on June 22, 2026, and demanded that the defendants stop, that the defendants declined, and that their continued use after notice is knowing and willful under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a). It alleges, on information and belief, that the defendants had actual knowledge of the plaintiff before opening.

Claims and relief requested

The plaintiff brings five counts against the defendants: Lanham Act unfair competition and false designation of origin under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (Count One); common law unfair competition (Count Two); violation of Arizona's Consumer Fraud Act, A.R.S. § 44-1521 et seq. (Count Three); trade dress infringement under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) (Count Four); and a declaration of rights (Count Five). The prayer asks for a preliminary and permanent injunction directing the defendants to cease using the VIKING name and horned-V logo in any form; a written compliance report within 10 days of any injunction; a declaration that the plaintiff is the rightful and exclusive owner of the VIKING name, horned-V logo, and corresponding trade dress for HVAC services in its geographic area and natural zone of expansion; an accounting of revenue, earnings, and profits; payment of gains, profits, and advantages from the infringement, including treble damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a); costs and reasonable attorneys' fees under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a); pre- and post-judgment interest; and other relief the court deems just and appropriate.