Chapman Automotive Group of Tempe, Ariz., filed a service mark infringement lawsuit against a used-car dealership and its principal, accusing them of wrongfully registering the nearly identical “Chapman Auto Group” with the Arizona Secretary of State and ignoring cease-and-desist demands.
The suit names as defendants Premier Auto Outlet LLC — doing business as Chapman Auto Group — owner Homayoun Arefi and his wife. Arefi declined to comment.
Chapman Automotive Group ranked 55th in the 2025 Automotive News list of the top 150 U.S. dealership groups. The complaint said it’s sold about 1 million vehicles in Arizona since 1966. It sold 19,558 new vehicles in 2025.
Arefi applied to the state agency for trademark registration in October 2023, according to the federal court complaint. It said the application falsely represented that “no other person has the right to use the mark either in the identical form or in such near resemblance as might be calculated to deceive or to be mistaken for the mark.”
The suit alleges Arefi and Premier began using “Chapman Auto Group” on Oct. 1, 2023, including prominently displaying “Chapman” on its signage and using two shades of red that are “indistinguishable from the two shades used by Chapman Automotive since at least 2018.”
Premier wrongfully used the Chapman name to sell vehicles on Facebook, OfferUp and Craigslist, according to the March 18 complaint.
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After receiving a demand letter, Arefi told Champman Automotive that he would dissolve the trade name and immediately stop advertising under its name. However, he still holds the trade name, uses it to advertise and maintains a license under that name at Manheim Auctions, the complaint said.
Premier’s actions are intended to deceive consumers and cause confusion and mistakes, the suit alleges.
“When impostors like Premier Auto Outlet and Mike Arefi pose as Chapman, they confuse consumers into purchasing lower-quality vehicles and tarnish Chapman’s reputation,” Aaron Duell of Phoenix, Chapman Automotive’s lawyer, told Automotive News.
“Many customers have expressed confusion directly to Chapman and we have witnessed firsthand this confusion,” he said. “This type of conduct is becoming more frequent in the automobile industry. Chapman intends to put an end to these actions by Premier and Arefi.”
The suit seeks actual and triple damages for infringement, fraudulent registration of a trade name and false description of origin, as well as an injunction against further use of the Chapman name and an order directing the Secretary of State to cancel the registration.
“If an entity that fraudulently registered the trade name is unwilling to cancel it, the appropriate action is to obtain a court order instructing the Secretary of State to cancel the trade name,” Duell said.
He said Chapman Automotive is continuing to assess its damages.
