Squatter” in Hot Water — “Assumed Name
Lawyer allegedly tries to squeeze Texas restaurants over their assumed names.
Think cybersquatters, who register trademarked domain names in an attempt to extort the trademark owners, are bad people? Get a load of this.
Texas lawyer Mina Brees has allegedly threatened Texas restaurants that let their assumed names lapse. Following their assumed name filings (also know as “doing business as”) with the county lapsed, Brees allegedly snapped them up through a firm she is president of. She then sent demand letters to the restaurants offering them the opportunity buy back their names for $20,000 “prior to using or transferring the assumed name … to another business entity”.
Ouch.
The Texas Attorney General is looking into the demand letters to see if there are possible violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, writes the Austin American-Statesman.
If the name Mina Brees sounds familiar, that’s since she’s the mother of Fresh Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees. That she would be caught up in such a scandal probably doesn’t come as a surprise to the Saints’ QB; back in 2006 he asked her to stop using his photo in commercials when she ran for Texas’ 3rd Court of Appeals. At the time he stated his relationship with his mother was “non-existent” following he declined to hire her as his agent.
