A Toms River, N.J., financial advisor is continuing his battle to protect his right to exclusively use the term "financial quarterback" with a suit against well-known industry giant Edelman Financial Engines.
The suit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, pits two financial radio hosts against each other, both of whom use the term: Josh Jalinski, head of Jalinski Advisory Group in New Jersey, and Ric Edelman, whose firm is based in Fairfax, Va., but who has a long history and strong presence in the New York and New Jersey areas.
The lawsuit is the latest in more than a dozen suits filed by Jalinski over the last year or two, according to his attorney, Maurice Ross of New York City. Jalinski trademarked the term "financial quarterback in 2010," he said, adding that he sent out more than 100 letters to advisors and firms using the term. Ninety-five percent of advisors who were contacted have stopped using the phrase, Ross said.
Jalinski said trademark law prohibits use of a trademarked phrase or similar phrase that causes “customer confusion.” Edelman and Jalinski appear in the same radio markets.
Ric Edelman, co-founder of Edelman Financial Engines, said, “This lawsuit is baseless and it’s claims are absurd.”
Edelman is Jalinski’s biggest radio competitor, Ross said. Although Jalinski has received monetary awards in some of the settlements, the goal of the suits is to stop other advisors from using the term, he said.
Suits are pending against JPL Investments in St. Louis, Franklin Retirement Solutions in Philadelphia, and The Hamo Group in Flint, Mich. Ross said his client is looking into adding Wells Fargo to the Hamo Group case since it is a Wells Fargo firm. The Franklin suit may go to trial next year, and if it does it will be the first to go to trial, he said. The bulk of the suits have been filed, Ross added, and most have been settled in Jalinski’s favor.