ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Hooters restaurants has lost a suit in Orlando, Fla., against a rival who allegedly used Hooters techniques to sell chicken wings and beer.
U.S. District Judge Anne C. Conway ruled Hooters had no exclusive right to use scantily clothed waitresses and its store interiors.
Hooters was also ordered to pay WingHouse $1.2 million to settle a counterclaim.
Atlanta-based Hooters sued WingHouse and its five restaurants near Orlando and Daytona Beach, Fla., saying its copycat tactics damaged Hooters reputation and confused the public.
Conway entered an unusual directed verdict before the jury got the case.
WingHouse founder Crawford Ker, a former Dallas Cowboys football player, said the Hooters suit was obviously frivolous.
"It was a lot of work to defend ourselves before a huge conglomerate like Hooters of America," Ker said. "But when you back somebody into a corner, they either fight or lie down. I was always taught to fight."