WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION
Torraspapel, S.A. v. Evidence Interactive
Case No. D2000-0081
1. The Parties
The Complainant:
The Complainant is Torraspapel, S.A., Gran Via Corts Catalanes 678, E-08010 Barcelona, SPAIN
The Complainants are represented by: David Pellisé Urquiza, Pellisé, Abogados Asociados, Avda. Diagonal, 463 bis, E-08036 Barcelona SPAIN.
The Respondent is:
Evidence Interactive, 89, rue du Faubourg St. Antoine, F-75011 Paris (FRANCE).
The contact for the Respondent is Mr. Claude Szwimer, [email protected].
2. The Domain Name and Registrar
The Domain Names at issue is <torraspapel.com>. The name is registered with Network Solutions, Inc., 505 Huntmar Park Drive, Herndon, VA. 20170 USA. Network Solutions’ 4.0 Service Agreement is in effect.
3. Procedural History
The Complaint was filed with the Center by e-mail on February 18, 2000. A written version of the Complaint with exhibits was received by the Center on February 24, 2000.
The proceedings were suspended on February 28, 2000 when the Complainant sent a fax to the Center stating that the parties were attempting to reach a settlement. An accompanying e-mail from the Respondent, dated February 22, 2000, confirmed the likelihood of an amicable resolution of the domain name dispute. The Respondent indicated in the e-mail that the domain name had been registered by mistake and that it had no interest in the name. The Respondent undertook to transfer the name immediately.
The Complainant contacted Network Solutions on March 15, 2000 to transfer of the domain name, and the Center notified the parties on March 23, 2000 that the proceeding was deemed terminated without prejudice as of March 15, 2000.
The domain name was not timely transferred and the legal proceedings were recommenced on May 19, 2000. The Center requested the appropriate verifications from the Registrar, Network Solutions, Inc. on May 23, 2000.
On May 30, 2000, the Registrar, Network Solutions, Inc. notified the Center that 1) Evidence Interactive is the current Registrant of the domain name <torraspapel.com>, 2) the Registrant’s address is 89 rue du Fg St Antoine, Paris 75011, France, 3) the Administrative Contact, Technical, Zone Contact, and Billing Contact are Szwimer, Claude (SC2372-org) [email protected], Artemis SA, 61 rue de la Prevoyance, Vincennes, 94300 France, 4) Network Solutions’ 4.0 Service Agreement is in effect, and that 5) the domain name is in "active" status.
On June 8, 2000, the Respondent was notified that a domain name procedure had been commenced against it. June 28, 2000, was fixed as the date for filing a Response. A Response was not timely received and on June 29, 2000, the Respondent was notified that the Center would nevertheless proceed with the nomination of a Panelist, and that the Panelist would be informed that the Respondent was in default.
The Center received an e-mail dated July 3, 2000, from Claude Szwimer, Respondent’s Administrative Contact, Technical, Zone Contact, and Billing Contact. The e-mail reconfirmed that the domain name had been erroneously registered by the Respondent, and that the Respondent was in the process of transferring the domain name to the Complainant. The Respondent further stated that it had written to Complainant’s counsel to obtain the necessary signatures so that the Registrar could transfer the domain name.
An Administrative Panel composed of a single member, Dr. Kamen Troller, was appointed. The file was transmitted to the Panelist on July 4, 2000, and the Panelist was notified that absent exceptional circumstances, he was required to forward its decision to the Center in accordance with Paragraph 15 of the Rules by July 18, 2000.
This July 3, 2000, e-mail from Respondent was transmitted after the 20 day deadline, established by Rule 5(a), for filing a Response. Bearing in mind that the Panel has the discretion to determine the admissibility of the evidence (Rule 10(d)), that the rules specifically envision the possibility of agreeing on a settlement (Rule 17(a)), and that the Panel’s obligation is to give each Party a fair opportunity to present its case (Rule 10(b)), or in this instance its position, the Panel has decided to admit this document.
4. Decision
Having carefully reviewed the file, in particular the statements made by the Respondent in its February 22, 2000, and July 3, 2000, e-mails, the Panel finds in accordance with Rule 15(a) that the Parties have settled this dispute. In order to effectuate the terms of the settlement, pursuant to paragraph 4(i) of the Policy and pursuant to paragraph 15 of the Rules, the Panel requires that the Registrar, Network Solutions, Inc., transfer the name <torraspapel.com > to the Complainant. Once Network Solutions has transferred the domain name, the dispute will be terminated pursuant to Rule 17(a).
Dr. Kamen Troller
Sole Panelist
