A St. Louis County judge ruled against a Black nursing organization’s trademark appeal Tuesday over the rights to Homer G. Phillips’ name.
Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Inc. sued Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital, developed by Paul McKee, in December 2023 for using the civil rights activist’s name on his now-closed three-bed north St. Louis facility. The group trademarked the name years before and argued the former hospital infringed upon it.
St. Louis County Judge Heather Cunningham ruled that the north St. Louis hospital at Jefferson and Cass avenues did not violate the group’s trademark, and that the trial court did not make any errors.
“We are fighting to continue the legacy of helping our people,” said Jobyna Foster, the nurses’ alumni organization’s outreach coordinator. “We have come so far to not just give up.”
The appeal was prompted when Cunningham dismissed the trademark lawsuit last year, ruling that the public would not conflate the nurses’ alumni organization with the recently shuttered Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital because the two do not provide the same level of health care.
Foster said she was not upset about the appellate court's ruling because she is willing to continue fighting to preserve the civil rights activist's name and legacy for St. Louisans. Foster hopes the nurses’ organization will seek counsel about taking the case to the Missouri Supreme Court.
The nurses' alumni association’s mission is to provide health care services and information to north St. Louis through events. The group has about 100 active members.
Last year, the association’s attorneys argued that the nurses do offer health care services to north St. Louis residents and are not just a social group.
“Under the rules in Missouri, a party who moves for summary judgment, such as Mr. McKee's organization, must present evidence that there are no disputed facts that entitle that party to judgment,” said Rick Voytas, the organization’s attorney.
“In this case, the nurses presented evidence that it was hotly disputed whether or not members of the public who might go to Mr. McKee's ’Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital’ might believe the nurses, who are the only group in the nation to hold a registered trademark containing ’Homer G. Phillips,’ sponsor or are affiliated with that hospital,” he said.
Voytas said in a statement that if there is a dispute about the nurse's evidence or McKee’s, then the state laws require a jury to decide on the dispute.
McKee has never reached out to the nurses’ organization to discuss the use of Phillip’s name, Foster said.
“Many attempts have been made to get him to sit down and talk to us and to rename that hospital,” she said. “He has never acknowledged that we even exist.”
She said the nurses remain dedicated to providing health care to people who need it the most, especially Black St. Louisans who live in areas with limited access to quality medical care. Foster said that although the nurses are fighting McKee for the rights to Phillip’s name, they are upset that the hospital recently closed because people still need emergency care in the area.
“We have always felt that health care needs to be provided wherever health care can be provided,” she said. “But to have a hospital down there, sure, we would be perfectly in favor of that, but don't use our name.”
The three-bed hospital closed in March, after being open for just 11 months. Hospital officials surrendered their license to state health officials for not submitting a complete correction plan for hospital deficiencies. The state health department suspended the hospital’s license this past December for an insufficient blood supply. The hospital also laid off about 80 employees via email in February, which caused their legal challenges to grow. Some employees filed small claims suits against the hospital and McKee for back payment and pain and suffering, for which McKee owes thousands to some.
Some organization members say they do not want anyone diminishing Phillips’ legacy by using his name on businesses for profit or on health care facilities that are no longer serving the community. However, they expect it to be a difficult fight and are calling on the community and city officials to join their fight.
“As long as we continue to fight and keep it before the forefront … and the community is aware of where we are in terms of the fight, it would just be nonsensical not to join the fight and to help and support us,” Foster said.
