American Equity Mortgage asks St. Louis-based federal court to

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, May 24, 2007 by Donna Walter

A federal trademark lawsuit between American Equity Mortgage and Vinson Mortgage may be at an end.

On Monday, American Mortgage Equity filed a motion in the St. Louis-based federal court to dismiss without prejudice its lawsuit against Vinson Mortgage. A dismissal without prejudice would preserve American Equity Mortgage's right to re-file its claims against Vinson Mortgage.

The two companies have been locking horns for close to a year now - ever since American Equity Mortgage filed a preliminary injunction against Vinson Mortgage in August to stop owner Ray Vinson from using a phone number ending in 9999. U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel denied the motion for a preliminary injunction on Jan. 24.

American Equity Mortgage is the company Vinson and his wife, Deanna Daughhetee, established in 1992. The couple divorced last year, and Daughhetee was awarded ownership of the company.

Vinson Mortgage has until June 5 to respond in writing to an order by Sippel to show why American Equity Mortgage's motion to dismiss should not be granted.

K. Lee Marshall of Bryan Cave, the lead attorney representing Vinson, declined to comment on how his client would respond to the motion.

Of the motion itself, he said, "We view that as a vindication of what we've been saying in this case all along. American Equity doesn't own rights to Ray's - voice or to the phone number. That's certainly how we felt coming out of the preliminary injunction hearing after Judge Sippel denied the injunction. Our position on that hasn't changed. I'm just hoping that reality finally got to them."

American Equity Mortgage's lead lawyer, Christopher M. Hohn of Husch & Eppenberger, declined to comment on the case but forwarded an interview request to the company. An additional phone call to a company representative was not returned.

The company's motion said the case has been "essentially dormant" since the Jan. 24 conclusion of the preliminary injunction hearing.