Trademark spat between gubernatorial candidates confronts First Amendment, reveals explosive personal allegations

Billionaire businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck threatened to fight former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the U.S. Supreme Court in their trademark dispute over the slogan "proven problem solver," according to a filing Wednesday.

Cloobeck, the founder and CEO of Diamond Resorts International, sued Villaraigosa personally and his campaign organization on April 29 in the Central District of California. He alleges trademark infringement and unfair competition, accusing Villaraigosa's campaign of unlawfully using the slogan "proven problem solver," which Cloobeck claims is confusingly similar to his own registered campaign trademark "I am a proven problem solver." Cloobeck v. Villaraigosa, Case No.: 2:25-cv-03790 (C.D. Cal., filed Apr. 29, 2025).

Villaraigosa has said that he was using the slogan before Cloobeck filed in December for the mark. The former mayor and speaker of the California Assembly has framed the fight as one over free speech - an assertion trademark specialists agree with.

"A proven problem solver is a classic example of a descriptive use that should be allowed even if there were a trademark," Harvard Law School Professor Rebecca Tushnet told the Daily Journal after the lawsuit was filed.

According to Wednesday's filing, the gubernatorial candidates attempted to forge a détente over text message on May 9, but Cloobeck warned that waging a drawn-out legal fight "has been my consistent business practice for decades upon decades."

In a droll retort, Eric M. George, lead counsel for Villaraigosa, wrote, "There is ample reason to take Mr. Cloobeck at his word in so describing his 'business practice.'"

The pleading then details how Cloobeck waged a fierce legal battle in federal and state court during the waning days of the pandemic against a former girlfriend after he discovered that she was a "professional pornographer." Cloobeck sought $1.3 million from the model for "property and experiences" that he had given her with the understanding that she might have a "lifelong relationship with him."

The model responded that she had "woke up" and realized she needed to escape Cloobeck's "predatory grasp." After she left him, Cloobeck "boasted that with his wealth, his ability to hire armies of lawyers, and with his political contacts, he could bankrupt" her and her family and friends and derail her desire to become a U.S. citizen.

The details of Cloobeck's sordid fight with his ex-girlfriend are laid out in a motion for judgment on the pleadings that Villaraigosa filed in the trademark lawsuit.

George, of Ellis George LLP, wrote that, "In connection with California's 2026 gubernatorial election, it would--and should--be 'fair game' for voters to understand and debate publicly available information concerning any candidate.

"To that end, no court should limit debate among candidates over who has the greater claim to be considered a 'proven problem solver,' including with respect to litigation that may shed light on a candidate's judgment or temperament."

Larry Hadley, a partner at Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP who is representing Cloobeck, said in a statement, "To distract from the merits of the case and his violation of Trademark law, Mr. Villaraigosa resorts to mudslinging and irrelevant gossip about Mr. Cloobeck's personal relationship history. Our side, on the other hand, is eager to get to the merits of the case, on which we think we should prevail."