Delaware North, the Buffalo-based concessions and hospitality giant, has settled its bitter legal fight with the federal government over trademarked names at Yosemite National Park.
The National Park Service on Monday announced the agreement that will restore the historic names to the Ahwahnee hotel and other prominent venues at the California park.
Park Service spokesman Scott Gediman told The Buffalo News that Delaware North, the park's former concessionaire, will receive $12 million – $3.84 million paid by the federal government and $8.16 million paid by Aramark, Yosemite’s current concessions operator.
Gediman said the settlement is the best possible outcome for all of the parties involved in the protracted dispute.
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He said the service on Monday began restoring the names to the Ahwahnee, Curry Village and other popular venues, prompting an emotional response from park visitors.
"People are ecstatic. There's a real buzz in the air," Gediman told The News on Tuesday. "We believe the place names belong to these buildings and, ultimately, to the American people."
Delaware North representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
The settlement ends a legal dispute that dates to 2015. That's when the Park Service selected Philadelphia-based Aramark over Delaware North for the new contract, worth up to $2 billion over 15 years, to operate hotels, restaurants, stores and other services in Yosemite.
Delaware North had held the contract at the park since 1993. Its loss was a stinging blow to the Buffalo company, as much psychological as financial, as well as a source of motivation.
In fall 2015, the company filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the Park Service, which responded that it would be forced to rename some venues at the park.
The name changes took effect in March 2016, when Aramark took over, sparking frustration among some visitors to the park and spurring a bitter reaction online.
The lawsuit argued that the Park Service should have required Aramark to purchase the names of park attractions and other intangible assets from Delaware North, as the Buffalo company says it was obligated to do when it took over park operations.
“We expected that the NPS would treat us fairly in this process, but instead it feels like we played by the NPS’ rules and the NPS unilaterally changed the game,” Delaware North said in a statement as it filed suit.
The company and the Park Service disagreed over the value of the trademarks and other intangibles. The company valued them at up to $51 million, but the Park Service insisted they were worth as little as $1.6 million and the names did not belong to Delaware North.
Mark Bartholomew, a University at Buffalo law professor who teaches trademark law and has studied the history of national parks, said lawsuits such as these are typically settled but this case dragged on for as long as it did because "both sides played hardball."
He said the dispute was costly because the nearly $4 million owed by the Park Service comes as the park system lacks financial support and the names remain the property of Aramark until 2031.
"The best thing about this lawsuit and resulting settlement: the National Park Service has now been put on notice and there shouldn’t be any more boneheaded provisions in concessions agreements allowing private companies to independently own the trademarks associated with national park attractions," Bartholomew said in an email.
