NACHI and another national association make peace today with new agreement.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

That is interesting, on an individual basis I get along with most, but it appears that NAHI does attract more then their fair share of folks who believe that using legislation to limit their competition is a sound marketing ploy, at least that has been the case here in Florida. As long as NAHI is pro-licensing I will remain unwilling to engage them in any meaningful dialog which might serve to provide a platform for their agenda.

In Missouri, we have NAHI support in fighting the legislative efforts of the few ASHI leaders who are bucking for teaching positions with ITA. ASHI's past president, Don Norman (now a vice president with ITA) lives in St. Louis and is the head puppeteer.

NAHI has no presence on the east side of the state.

On the West Side, along with the ASHI Chapter who is actively fighting the legislative efforts of the special interests...we have some good NAHI folks standing with us.

Some hold dual membership with NACHI. Perhaps you have heard of Dan Bowers.

[klott]

Originally Posted by fcarrio

Kenneth,
As a "Christian" you can say anything you want.

i was just making a point Frank, I try not to say it.

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

Wrong guy, it was Neville Chamberlain who said this after meeting with Hitler. But the peace Chamberlain sought was never realized and once Germany invaded the Netherlands he was forced to resign as Prime Minister, that is how Winston Churchill came into power, the rest as they say is history.

I am correct.

The quote was made about an agreement made with Hitler
and within one year Europe was thrust into WWII

************************************************** ****

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_for_our_time

The phrase "peace for our time" was spoken in 1938 by Neville Chamberlain
in his speech given in the defense of the Munich Agreement, often misquoted as
"peace in our time".

It is primarily remembered for its ironic value. The Munich Agreement gave t
he Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Hitler in an attempt to satisfy his desire
for Lebensraum or "living space" for Germany.

One year after the agreement, Europe was plunged into World War II.


Chamberlain holding the paper containing the resolution to
commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself
on his return from Germany in September 1938

************************************************** *****
Do I win a prize?

[Nick Gromicko]

I'm a war history buff .

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by gromicko

I'm a war history buff .

Ahhhh... the hidden meaning in the quote you used
was indeed intended.

I always heard that shadow governments that
start a revolution will send out coded messages.

BTW... I have the complete set of DVD's to the
entire history of WWII (30+ hrs) The film footage
is entirely from original news reels and from the
front lines, both in Europe and in the Pacific.

It is awesome.

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by jmckenna1

Ahhhh... the hidden meaning in the quote you used
was indeed intended.

I always heard that shadow governments that
start a revolution will send out coded messages.

BTW... I have the complete set of DVD's to the
entire history of WWII (30+ hrs) The film footage
is entirely from original news reels and from the
front lines, both in Europe and in the Pacific.

It is awesome.

I'm looking forward to Ken Burns mini-series on PBS in September.

[relliott]

I Like This Bettor

[David Nice]

Perhpas the best way to look at this is that NACHI is granting them their dying wish. All ribbons for the flowers on their grave must now be from INTER NACHI.

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

I like it.

[Mark Cohen]

I have been reading this thread and want to clarify a couple of things regarding the NACHI/NAHI Settlement:

1. NAHI did NOT get what it really wanted. It wanted NACHI to completely change its name. It wanted NACHI not to use "Certified Residential Inspector." It wanted NACHI to stop using the word "Certified" completely. It wanted NACHI to change its logo because it alleged the NACHI logo was too similar to the NAHI logo. It wanted NACHI to censor its message board to remove all messages unfavorable to NAHI. NAHI GOT NONE OF THESE THINGS.

2. The non-disparagement provision applies only to Nick Gromicko and paid employees of NACHI. It does not impact rank and file NACHI members.

3. In my view, the deposition of NAHI's Executive Director on Monday was a significant factor in causing NAHI to give up on the relief it had been seeking for more than two years. NAHI made the best deal it could under the circumstances and NACHI saved $300,000 to $400,000 in legal fees without giving up anything significant.

Mark Cohen
NACHI General Counsel

[wforsyth]

Originally Posted by gromicko

I'm a war history buff .

My son studies World War 2 Politics and he's only 14.

[John McKenna]

Originally Posted by mcohen

I have been reading this thread and want to clarify a couple of things regarding the NACHI/NAHI Settlement:

1. NAHI did NOT get what it really wanted. It wanted NACHI to completely change its name. It wanted NACHI not to use "Certified Residential Inspector." It wanted NACHI to stop using the word "Certified" completely. It wanted NACHI to change its logo because it alleged the NACHI logo was too similar to the NAHI logo. It wanted NACHI to censor its message board to remove all messages unfavorable to NAHI. NAHI GOT NONE OF THESE THINGS.

2. The non-disparagement provision applies only to Nick Gromicko and paid employees of NACHI. It does not impact rank and file NACHI members.

3. In my view, the deposition of NAHI's Executive Director on Monday was a significant factor in causing NAHI to give up on the relief it had been seeking for more than two years. NAHI made the best deal it could under the circumstances and NACHI saved $300,000 to $400,000 in legal fees without giving up anything significant.

Mark Cohen
NACHI General Counsel

Good job Mark... thanks for being there for Nick and all NACHI members.

[James H. Bushart]

Originally Posted by mcohen

I have been reading this thread and want to clarify a couple of things regarding the NACHI/NAHI Settlement:

1. NAHI did NOT get what it really wanted. It wanted NACHI to completely change its name. It wanted NACHI not to use "Certified Residential Inspector." It wanted NACHI to stop using the word "Certified" completely. It wanted NACHI to change its logo because it alleged the NACHI logo was too similar to the NAHI logo. It wanted NACHI to censor its message board to remove all messages unfavorable to NAHI. NAHI GOT NONE OF THESE THINGS.

2. The non-disparagement provision applies only to Nick Gromicko and paid employees of NACHI. It does not impact rank and file NACHI members.

3. In my view, the deposition of NAHI's Executive Director on Monday was a significant factor in causing NAHI to give up on the relief it had been seeking for more than two years. NAHI made the best deal it could under the circumstances and NACHI saved $300,000 to $400,000 in legal fees without giving up anything significant.

Mark Cohen
NACHI General Counsel

Mr. Cohen,

NAHI has its own spin on these events.

Any comments?

To all NAHI Members:

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc. (“NACHI”) has agreed to settle the federal lawsuit filed by the National Association of Home Inspectors (“NAHI”) and the pending dispute over NACHI’s application to register certain trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

As a matter of background, on March 10, 2004, NACHI filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register a “NACHI” logo. NAHI filed an opposition to this application before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board based on the likelihood of confusion and mistake with NAHI’s name and
logo. On April 26, 2006, while the trademark opposition was pending, NAHI also filed a lawsuit against NACHI in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan. In that lawsuit, NAHI alleged that NACHI’s use of the terms “National Association of Certified Home Inspectors,” “NACHI,” and C.R.I.” infringed upon and acted to dilute the value of NAHI’s trademarks. In addition, NAHI alleged that NACHI, on its own account and through its founder, Nick Gromicko, had repeatedly published defamatory statements
regarding NAHI and its members. NAHI also alleged that NACHI had engaged in unlawful practices and tortious conduct by manipulating internet search engine results and making false statements concerning NACHI and the qualifications of its members, including statements that NACHI “certified” home inspectors are the most educated and best trained inspectors and that NACHI does not have multiple levels of membership.

In response to NAHI’s Complaint, NACHI asked the Court to dismiss NAHI’s case or, in the alternative, to transfer the case to Colorado. This request was denied by the Court as being without merit, and the case continued in the Eastern District of Michigan where it was filed. After receiving NAHI’s evidence during discovery and taking the deposition of NAHI’s Executive Director, Mallory Anderson, NACHI agreed to a number of NAHI’s demands, and, in return, NAHI agreed to dismiss its pending lawsuit. A summary of the
agreement to settle the case as well as the pending issues before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is asfollows:

·

NACHI has agreed to change the name under which it does business to InterNACHI. It will keep its legal name of National Association of Certified Home Inspectors on its articles of incorporation and for the sole purpose of its current legal obligations/contracts and the few instances where it has been named in state legislation and rules. NACHI will not use “National Association of Certified Home Inspectors” or “NACHI” for any commercial, marketing, or publicity purpose and instead will use “InterNACHI.”
Over time, this change should put an end to the repeated confusion between NAHI and NACHI caused by the similarity between the names. NACHI has agreed to act to immediately effectuate the name change on all of its websites, letterheads, and marketing materials. The parties have agreed to allow NACHI members time to make the transition to InterNACHI, but it is expected that NACHI members will act in a reasonably prompt fashion in doing so.

Page 2 of 3

·

NACHI will amend or withdraw its trademark application for its “NACHI” logo now pending before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that was opposed by NAHI. NACHI may register its current house logo with InterNACHI in the logo instead of NACHI. This resolution effectively provides NAHI with all of the relief that could have been obtained through its opposition filed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

·

NACHI has agreed to give up any claim to the CRI (or C.R.I.) designation. NACHI may still use “Certified Residential Inspector,” and NACHI will not object to NAHI’s use of the CRI mark or the designation of “Certified Real Estate Inspector.”

·

Nick Gromicko will not use NAHI’s name or acronym in discussions on NACHI’s website, although he may do so in other forums, such as in discussions and talks. Nick Gromicko and paid employees of NACHI will not make disparaging remarks about NAHI. NACHI will remove all offense material from its website about NAHI and as requested by NAHI in writing. In return, NAHI has agreed that NAHI’s paid staff members will not make disparaging remarks about NACHI.

·

NACHI will remove all NAHI home inspectors from its email lists, except for those who are also members of NACHI. If a NAHI member or NAHI requests, NACHI will remove any NAHI names and email addresses missed in the initial purge. Gromicko and NACHI have also agreed not to mine NAHI’s website for email addresses.

·

NACHI has agreed not to use NAHI’s name, including the phrase “national association of home inspectors,” in meta tags or hidden text on its websites. After NAHI’s lawsuit was filed, NACHI removed NAHI’s name from its meta tags, which stopped NACHI from coming up first in search engines when a search was made using the terms “NAHI” or “national association of home inspectors.” This agreement will prevent a reoccurrence of this Internet search engine manipulation.

·

The parties agreed to the dismissal of the pending lawsuit with prejudice and without costs or fees to either party and a release of all claims that were raised in the litigation.

This release does not include events or issues arising out of or related to the application or interpretation of Act 114 in Pennsylvania and as to whether NACHI members are qualified to perform unsupervised home inspections under
Pennsylvania law.

·

This settlement was put on the record, and it is at this time an enforceable settlement agreement. The parties agreed that a written settlement agreement will be drafted incorporating the above terms and that any disputes arising from the settlement agreement will be resolved under Michigan law.



As the above terms make clear, in agreeing to settle its lawsuit, NAHI was able to obtain a substantial number of its objectives in filing the lawsuit and its trademark opposition. The most significant of these accomplishments are the required change to NACHI’s name, the prevention of the use of meta tags and hidden text to manipulate search engine results, and the cessation of negative and inflammatory statements by Nick Gromicko. In deciding whether to settle the lawsuit on these terms, the Board of Directors took into account the additional monetary costs that would be incurred in taking this case to trial, the likelihood of success as to each of the remaining claims, and the ability of market forces to correct other perceived deficiencies in NACHI’s business model. In weighing these factors, the Board of Directors determined that the settlement has produced a significant victory for NAHI and its members, that market forces will continue to act to correct the remaining perceived deficiencies in NACHI’s business model, and that the funds that would have been expended in

Page 3 of 3

continuing to litigate the remaining issues can be put to good and profitable use in continuing to grow the NAHI name and the business of its members. In sum, the lawsuit has led to an excellent result for NAHI, and it is time to turn NAHI’s attention and resources to other matters.

We would like to thank all of the NAHI members who contributed to this result, both through monetary contributions and the collection of supporting evidence. In addition, we would like to thank our Executive Director, Mallory Anderson, and the entire NAHI staff for their hard work and dedication in this matter.

Sincerely,
Everett Rawlings, CRI
President

National Association of Home Inspectors

[Paul W. Abernathy]

Excellent post Mark....

I don't see where NAHI would have much ground in regards to the " Certified " statement since they dont use it in thier logo....and removing that term alone would well...make the logo look even more like theres...lol

As someone who signed the affidavit for Nick and NACHI I am just glad to see it is over...I never like to think someone comes out with the short end of the stick but having you state it that way...I can see why the agreement was made.

Excellent post for a first timer I might add.......

HMMM...then I read this statement...lol

The most significant of these accomplishments are the required change to NACHI’s name, the prevention of the use of meta tags and hidden text to manipulate search engine results, and the cessation of negative and inflammatory statements by Nick Gromicko. In deciding whether to settle the lawsuit on these terms, the Board of Directors took into account the additional monetary costs that would be incurred in taking this case to trial, the likelihood of success as to each of the remaining claims, and the ability of market forces to correct other perceived deficiencies in NACHI’s business model. In weighing these factors, the Board of Directors determined that the settlement has produced a significant victory for NAHI and its members, that market forces will continue to act to correct the remaining perceived deficiencies in NACHI’s business model, and that the funds that would have been expended in continuing to litigate the remaining issues can be put to good and profitable use in continuing to grow the NAHI name and the business of its members. In sum, the lawsuit has led to an excellent result for NAHI, and it is time to turn NAHI’s attention and resources to other matters.

Hey....in the end it is all good......onward and upward and put that in the past.......

[rwand1]

Mark,

Thanks for the clarification. That sums it up pretty nicely.

Cheers,