SAN DIEGO (LN) — A federal judge has indicated he will enter partial default judgment for Mexican airline Volaris on its trade name claims against a California woman who allegedly incorporated two nonprofit corporations using names nearly identical to the airline's own corporate identities — but said the trademark counts cannot proceed because the airline never described what the defendants actually do or sell.
The defendants — Elaine Brown Selan and two California nonprofit corporations she allegedly formed in February 2023 — never appeared or responded to the suit. Volaris's parent entities, Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A.P.I. de C.V. and Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V., filed for default judgment on February 23, 2026, after obtaining clerk's entries of default against the two corporate defendants in January and against Selan in February.
The court found the trade name infringement claim under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act well-supported. The defendants' corporate names were, in the court's assessment, nearly indistinguishable from the plaintiffs' own. Volaris's trade name "Concesionaria Vuela Compania de Aviacion S.A.P.I. de C.V." differed from the defendant entity's registered name — "Concesionaria Vuela Compaa de Aviacin, S.A.P.I. de C.V." — only of three inconspicuous letters within two words. The other defendant corporation's name, "Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V.," was exactly the same as the plaintiff's.
The confusion was not merely theoretical. According to the complaint, at least one party attempting to serve Volaris with a lawsuit instead served Selan by mail, and Volaris never received the complaint until a hearing date had already been set. A declaration filed with the default judgment motion added that two additional small-claims plaintiffs had made the same mistake after the suit was filed.
The court also credited Volaris's allegations about Selan's broader pattern of conduct. According to the complaint, Selan filed articles of incorporation for more than 350 nonprofit mutual benefit corporations — the majority between February 9 and February 16, 2023 — each using the trade name of a legitimate existing for-profit business, with the same agent, mailing address, and principal office address as the defendant entities.
The trademark infringement claim under Section 32(1) of the Lanham Act fared worse. The court found Volaris had adequately established ownership of the federally registered VOLARIS mark — U.S. Registration Nos. 3712524 and 6283810 — but said the complaint offered nothing beyond a bare allegation that defendants began using a mark confusingly similar to the VOLARIS mark in U.S. commerce. Without any description of the infringing mark or the goods and services defendants actually sell, the court said it could not evaluate the Sleekcraft likelihood-of-confusion factors, including the relatedness of the parties' goods, marketing channel overlap, or consumer care. The California trademark infringement and false advertising claims failed for the same reasons.
If the court enters the partial default judgment as described, it will cover the federal trade name infringement, federal unfair competition, and false designation of origin claims under Section 43(a), as well as California trade name infringement and California unfair competition claims. Injunctive relief is the only remedy — Volaris abandoned its damages claims before the motion was filed.
Rather than enter a final order immediately, the court gave Volaris 21 days to withdraw the motion and file an amended complaint addressing the deficiencies in the trademark and false advertising counts. If Volaris declines to amend, it must notify the court, which will then enter the partial default judgment as described.
According to the complaint, Selan filed the articles of incorporation for both defendant entities on February 15, 2023, listing a mailing address of 416 W San Ysidro Blvd in San Ysidro and a principal office address in Sheridan, Wyoming — neither of which has any apparent connection to Volaris's operations.