Owner moves to Dallas, says employees working out of their homes
Racineonline.com – the Racine-based Internet service provider being sued by Racine Danish Kringle over use of the term Racine kringle – has closed its retail location at 337 Main in Racine.
The closing, which according to Flynn took place officially on Saturday, Feb. 23, came two days before a Racine County Circuit Court granted Flynn’s liability insurer – Acuity – a declaratory judgment absolving the company from responsibility for Flynn’s defense.
Owner Patrick Flynn has moved to Dallas for "at least a year," to represent a Florida-based embroidery company in the Southwest, according to a telephone conversation with SBT the last week of February. At some point, Flynn said he may be able to transfer back to Wisconsin to handle the Midwest for embroidme.com – the manufacturer of promotional embroidery items.
Flynn stressed that Racineonline.com is still in existence, and that the ISP and Web site design services are being operated by employees from their homes.
"Our goal in having the storefront was more for credibility and visibility," Flynn said. But attempts to call the phone number used on Flynn’s Web site yielded only a recorded message saying the number had been suspended at the customer’s request. A phone number listed on the site for billing and accounts payable questions was routed to Flynn’s cell phone in Dallas.
Sean Schoettler, who had worked for Flynn at the downtown location, said he is finishing up some graphics assignments for Flynn, but once those projects are completed, he will turn his attention to his own home-based business, Creative Accents Design.
Flynn also said that Laura Laznicka, who owns 25% of racineonline.com, was also working from her home. But Laznicka said she had not completed substantial work for the company since 1999, and was acting as a silent partner while teaching Web graphics at Gateway Technical College in Elkhorn.
"I believe he is settling down there," Schoettler said of Flynn’s presence in Texas. "Once he gets settled, in I believe he will be taking over again."
Racineonline’s home page now actively refers prospects to other Web designers, including Schoettler, giving the impression that some services may be phased out.
Kringle showdown
coming in Feb. 2003
Racine Danish Kringle – a commercial baker of the flat pastries endemic to Racine – sued Flynn for in May of last year for helping a Racine bakery – Larsen’s – register the domain name racinekringle.com, alleging it was too similar to their own name. They also allege Flynn broke federal cybersquatting law by registering – but not using – the domain racinedanishkringle.com. At issue is whether the term Racine kringle is descriptive of a style of pastry unique to the area and whether even the copyrighted name Racine Danish Kringle is too descriptive and geographic in nature to be protected in court. Also at issue is whether Flynn, who hosts the site for Larsen’s, can be sued to hand over a domain name which belongs to the bakery and not to his firm. The parties are in a discovery phase that could last until a trial date in February of 2003.
Flynn said the closing of his retail location is not related to legal costs accrued in the case. Legal fees could be significant since the declaratory judgment in Acuity’s favor. According to court records, Acuity argued that under the terms of Flynn’s policy, a lawsuit like Racine Danish Kringle’s, which alleges lost profits, is not included in the definition of damages covered.
March 15, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
