Mattress Firm Inc., whose bankruptcy filing earlier this month would generally freeze most pending lawsuits against it, faces a challenge from Tempur-Pedic North America LLC, which Monday sought court approval to continue a trademark infringement case against the retailer, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The bedding-products maker moved to lift the automatic stay that is shielding Mattress Firm in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., with the aim of restarting litigation already pending in federal court. Tempur-Pedic North America in August sued Mattress Firm and three unrelated companies in federal court in Tampa, Fla., alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition. It alleged, among other things, that Mattress Firm and the others make, advertise and sell mattresses under the name “‘Therapedic,’ which, as used by defendants, is confusingly similar” to the Tempur-Pedic brand. In that lawsuit, Tempur-Pedic sought a preliminary injunction seeking to stop Mattress Firm and others from infringing on its products.
