Firehouse Subs might have to pay nearly half a million dollars in attorney’s fees to Heath Scurfield, the Horry County firefighter who beat the national restaurant chain this month in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit, but the legal wrangling between the two sides could be far from over.
Scurfield, the owner of Calli Baker’s Firehouse Bar & Grill in the Briarcliffe Acres area, filed court documents Tuesday asking for reimbursement of $490,217.90 in legal fees associated with defending his restaurant against Firehouse Subs’ trademark lawsuit. No other damages were awarded in the case.
A judge must first approve the attorney’s fees before Firehouse Subs would be required to pay them, and the restaurant chain could dispute the amount.
Firehouse Subs had claimed that Scurfield’s use of the word “firehouse” in his restaurant’s name violated their trademark and confused consumers who might think Calli Baker’s was part of the national chain. An eight-person jury unanimously ruled against Firehouse Subs last week, seemingly bringing an end to a dispute that started in 2008.