Appellant Lori Davis, individually and as personal representative of the Estate of Keith L. Davis, M.D., appeals three orders entered by the Columbia County Superior Court on March 7, 2014, April 1, 2014, and April 21, 2014, granting mandatory interlocutory injunctions against her and holding her in civil and criminal contempt in an action brought against her husband’s estate by Steven M. Roth, M.D. “Roth” and two Georgia limited liability companies Roth co-owned with Keith Davis “Davis”. The plaintiffs filed suit against appellant and the Davis Estate seeking to enforce certain provisions of the companies’ operating agreements giving Roth, as the surviving member of the LLCs, an option to purchase Davis’ interests, and to otherwise establish the rights of the parties, including the ownership of certain trademarks. Appellant also appeals from an order entered April 21, 2014 in which the trial court adopted the Third Report of the Special Master and limited discovery in the pending case. Appellees, VCP South, LLC, VCP Raleigh, LLC and Mary Anne Roth, individually and as Executrix of the Estate of Steven M. Roth, M.D. cross-appeal alleging the trial court erred in allowing the Davis Estate to maintain an ownership interest in the LLCs past the time provided for in the operating agreements, and in allowing the distribution of LLC profits accruing after Davis’ death to the Davis Estate. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the decisions of the trial court.
The facts of this case are as follows: In 2004, plastic surgeons Davis and Roth formed VCP South, LLC, a joint vein care practice located outside Augusta, Georgia, with each doctor owning fifty percent of the membership units of the LLC pursuant to the terms of an operating agreement signed by the parties. Drs. Davis and Roth thereafter formed other related limited liability companies and opened additional vein care practices in neighboring states. The doctors heavily advertised their services and developed a lucrative business, becoming known as “The Vein Guys.” VCP South contracted with a marketing company to apply for federal trademark protection for a number of trademarks utilized by the medical practices, including “Vein Care Pavilion,” “Vein Care Pavilion of the South,” “The Vein Guys,” “We’re So Vein,” “Real Talk,” and “Total Vein Care.” Unbeknownst to Roth, and despite the fact that the marketing company was paid by VCP South, these trademarks were placed solely in the name of Davis.
