HURST, Texas, Jan. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Tax, a
leader in the tax preparation industry today announced that it had
reached an agreement with ATAX to settle the lawsuit Liberty Tax
filed in February of 2021 in the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Virginia. The lawsuit asserted claims for
unfair competition, tortious interference, false designation of
origin, and trademark infringement, among a host other causes of
action.
In addition to a monetary payment of over $500,000.00, key provisions of the Settlement
Agreement are memorialized in a Consent Decree, filed with the
Court, which provides, among other things, that ATAX is permanently
enjoined from (1) torturously interfering with Liberty's franchise
agreements, (2) diverting or attempting to interfere with or divert
any leases from Liberty, (3) palming off any of ATAX's
products or services as those of Liberty, including without
limitation, by infringing on Liberty's trademarks, trade dress or
logos, or otherwise falsely associating with Liberty, (4)
possessing, misappropriating, using or disclosing Liberty's
confidential information, and (5) accessing any of Liberty's
computer systems or databases. The Court retains jurisdiction to
enforce the Consent Decree.
"We are satisfied to have successfully defended our brand and
Franchisee base by resolving this matter," stated Liberty Tax's
Chief Executive Officer Brent
Turner. "As has always been its practice, Liberty Tax will
not hesitate to take legal action when necessary to defend its
contractual rights and business interests, particularly against
competitors, who utilize unfair business practices to their
advantage to try and damage the goodwill and reputation of the
Liberty Tax franchise system" he added.
About Liberty Tax
Liberty Tax, a portfolio company of NextPoint Financial
Inc. (TSX: NPF.U & OTC Pink: NACQF), is a tax preparation
service with more than 2,700 locations, and serves approximately
1.6 million consumer and small business clients in the United States and Canada. Established in 1997, Liberty Tax is
one of the nation's leading tax preparation companies, with
franchised locations in every major metro area throughout the US
and Canada. For a more in-depth
look, visit Liberty Tax Service and interact with Liberty Tax on
LinkedIn and Facebook.
About NextPoint Financial Inc.
NextPoint
Financial Inc. is an all-inclusive marketplace for financial
services empowering hardworking and underserved consumers and small
businesses. NextPoint was formed through the July 2021 combination of Liberty Tax, a leading
provider of tax preparation services, with LoanMe, an online lender
and loan marketer. NextPoint's revenue and financial performance
currently reflects the seasonality of its large tax preparation
business wherein the bulk of its revenue is generated in the first
and second calendar quarters of each year.
NextPoint's interim financial statements along with other
regulatory documents are filed on the System for Electronic
Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR") www.sedar.com
where they may be viewed by shareholders and other interested
parties.
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SOURCE Liberty Tax