Motor Home Maker Sued in Trademark Dispute

Rexhall Industries Inc., a rapidly growing manufacturer of motor homes, said it was sued for $10 million by Thor Industries Inc. and its subsidiary Airstream Inc., which makes a rival brand of motor homes.

In the suit, filed last week in federal court in Los Angeles, Thor alleged among other things that Rexhall’s use of the name “Airex” for its motor homes infringes on the Airstream name and injures Airstream’s reputation. The suit also seeks a court order forcing Santa Clarita-based Rexhall to stop using the Airex name.

Mark A. Klein, a lawyer representing Rexhall, said the company “will definitely contest” the suit.

William J. Rex, chairman and co-founder of Rexhall, said in a statement that the suit “lacked merit” and asserted that it showed “the increasing concern that Rexhall’s competitors are feeling as Rexhall continues to grow and capture market share.”

Indeed, while announcing the lawsuit, the 4-year-old Rexhall also announced that its second-quarter profit jumped 72% from a year earlier, to $1.22 million from $711,000, while its sales in the quarter that ended June 30 surged 82% to $16.8 million from $9.22 million.

For the first half of 1990, Rexhall’s earnings rose 59% to $1.7 million from $1.07 million, and its six-month sales increased 83% to $27.6 million from $15.1 million.

Airstream, which with Thor is based in Jackson Center, Ohio, is a venerable maker of trailers and motor homes well-known for their chrome silver exteriors. Airstream’s products typically are on the expensive end; their vehicles retail for upwards of $80,000, compared with Rexhall’s $40,000-$45,000 price range.

The suit also names as a defendant Herbert F. Boeckmann, a San Fernando Valley businessman who owns Galpin Motors, a Ford dealership in Sepulveda. Boeckmann used to own Establishment Industries, a motor home maker in San Fernando that employed Rex before Rex co-founded Rexhall with Charles A. Hall.

Boeckmann sold Establishment to Thor, based in Jackson Center, Ohio, in 1985 for about $5.7 million. According to Thor’s suit, Boeckmann also agreed not to compete against Thor for five years. But Boeckmann allegedly broke that agreement by providing guarantees to Ford Motor Co. on Rexhall’s behalf that helped Rexhall buy motor home chassis from Ford, the suit asserted.

Boeckmann said he, too, would contest the suit, saying “I don’t feel I’ve ever done anything that would affect the non-compete clause.”