Good Sam Enterprises, a subsidiary of Camping World Holdings, has filed suit against Gigi Stetler, CEO of RVs of Broward in Florida and owner of RV Advisor, for trademark infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, and deceptive trade practices.
Good Sam alleged that the defendants recently began infringing on the goodwill and trademarks of Good Sam by marketing its products and services under the Good Samaritan Club brand and making numerous false or misleading statements about Good Sam’s products and services.
“We believe this misinformation campaign fueled by RV Advisor and Gigi Stetler misleads our customers and the public by using our trademarks and making false, misleading and deceptive statements about our products and services,” said Tamara Ward, COO of Camping World Holdings. “We will not allow RV Advisor or Stetler to add legitimacy to the products and services they purport to offer and deceive and mislead the RV community by trading on the goodwill and trademarks established by Good Sam over the past 55 years.”
Ward added, “We will proactively and aggressively pursue our rights against any company that uses deceptive trade practices and attempts to trade on our name to provide legitimacy to their business. We’ve been cultivating our trademarks and concepts for over 55 years and will not tolerate any type of unlawful business activity to infringe on our rights.”
In response to the lawsuit, Gigi Stetler issued the following statement: “We at RV Advisor created our social media platform, the Good Samaritan Club, with the goal of starting a chain reaction of good deeds. Since the start of the pandemic, people need help and support more than ever, and the RV community has answered that calling. Marcus Lemonis cannot trademark the long history of good Samaritans and the will of the RV community to do good for others. Marcus Lemonis’ time would be better utilized actually servicing the needs of the thousands of Camping World customers who have been sold subpar products and services, handling the barrage of lawsuits from former customers, business partners and employees …”
Stetler and Camping World have been feuding in court for the past several years, as detailed here: https://rv-pro.com/news/row-between-florida-dealer-camping-world-continues/