Latest News by Industry
Branson's Virgin wins a lawsuit against a Florida train firm that said it was a tarnished brand
A British judge has ruled in favor of Richard Branson’s Virgin group in its lawsuit against a U.S. train company over a licensing agreement
LONDON (AP) — A British judge ruled in favor of Richard Branson's Virgin group on Thursday in its lawsuit against a U.S. train company that terminated a licensing agreement and claimed the Virgin brand was no longer one of “high repute.”
Judge Mark Pelling ruled in favor of Virgin Enterprises, which had sued Florida passenger train operator Brightline Holdings for breaching an agreement to rebrand as Virgin Trains USA.
The two firms struck a deal in 2018, but Brightline pulled out two years later. It came shortly after the Virgin Atlantic airline filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Virgin lost the U.K. train franchise it had held for two decades.
Brightline argued that Virgin had “ceased to constitute a brand of international high repute, largely because of matters related to the pandemic.” Virgin Atlantic fought financial support from the British government after COVID-19 grounded travel.