Coachbult.com - Moloney Coachbuilders



Moloney Coachbuilders - Scaletta-Moloney Armoring - 1970s-present - Dublin, Bensenville, Illinois - Farmington Hills, Michigan

Moloney Coachbuilders - Chicago. Illinois (formerly Lehmann-Peterson) 1971-present now Scaletta Moloney Armoring (2001) Bensenville, Illinois and Farmington Hills, Michigan

**Earl Moloney, former owner of Moloney operates two competing firms known as International Armor & Limousine and Chicago Armor & Limousine of Elgin, Illinois - The two group of firms (International & Chicago and Moloney/Moloney Scaletta) are not owned by the same people as assumed by most people(See court ruling at bottom of page). Earl Moloney sold his limousine assets, together with the name "Moloney Coach Builders" to Jacques Moore 1986 who incorporated Moloney Coachbuilders, Inc., to carry on the business.

Earle agreed not to compete for five years in the stretch limousine business but reserved the right to make armored limousines and custom vehicles extended by less than 20 inches.

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International Armor & Limousine Company v. Moloney Coachbuilders, Inc., 272 F.3d 912 (7th Cir. 2001), in which attorney Robert Trinza represented a limousine and armored vehicle manufacturer in a suit involving contract, trademark and federal jurisdiction issues.

International was QVM rated from 1990-2001

International Armor & Limousine Established: 1990 Terminated: 2001 1100 Davis Rd. Elgin, Illinois (Northwest suburb of Chicago)

1991 Cadillac 64" Dignitary V.i.p. Limo by Chicago Armor

1992 Cadillac 64" stretched Dignitary VIP limousine, glossy folder by Chicago Armor and Limousine, 4 pp., opens to 11x17"

1996 White Cadillac Fleetwood 85” Limousine by Chicago Armor

The Hummer was then drop shipped from AM General in South Bend, Indiana, to Elgin, Illinois where the armor conversion was completed by Chicago Armor and Limousine Company.

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Built custom executive limousines on Cadillac and Lincoln chassis. Cadillac 34" and 38" Corporate, 40" Six-Door, 50" and 54" Flagship and 55" Grand Flagship Limousines.

Cadillac conversion. Folder opens to 11x17 layout with ten photographs showing custom grilles, Mark IV style deck, custom interior and Cadillac 4-door convertible, station wagon and El Doral models.

It's a new name with a long tradition in armoring. Moloney Coachbuilders today announced it was officially changing its name to Scaletta Moloney Armoring Corporation. The new name will expand on the firm's 25-year history as the world's leader in transportation security. Scaletta Moloney has custom built more armored passenger vehicles for the U.S. government over the last decade than all other armoring companies combined.

The company plans to expand its product and service offerings to corporate clients and business executives in the U.S. and overseas. As part of its expansion efforts, the company's new name and trademark better represent the unique products and services the company provides.

"Scaletta Moloney protects people worldwide," said Joe Scaletta, who's served as the firm's president and CEO ever since the company was purchased from Earl Moloney 15 years ago. "For years, we've protected presidents, heads of state and government officials from dangers at home and abroad.

"Now that we're offering the same high levels of technology and security to business executives and private citizens, we felt that our name should better reflect who we are and what we do," he said. "We're committed to excellence in our work and our customer relations. High-quality products, confidentiality, and custom armored vehicles that meet the highest specifications --that's what we strive to achieve."

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An undetermined number of Lehmann-Peterson limousines were built in 1969 and one 1970 prototype was reportedly built before the Lehmann-Peterson/Lincoln-Mercury relationship ended. One of the last of the 1969 limousines was fitted with Mark III front and rear exterior trim, perhaps in an attempt to rekindle interest at Lincoln-Mercury, but this concept apparently did not catch on. What caused the relationship to falter is unknown. The author was doing research on a Lincoln history in Detroit in 1980 (The Lincoln Motorcar, now long out of print) and inquired of Lincoln-Mercury people at that time about what had happened. No one would or, most likely, could supply the answer. There had been so many staff changes at the division that the corporate memory then hardly went back more than two or three years. (The public relations director had been on the job for about a week! And, as John Banner used to say, knew nothing! A good man, this fellow is now vice-president of communications for Toyota'a American operations.)

Lehmann-Peterson, Inc., was dissolved in 1970 and some of its assets were taken over by Moloney Coachbuilders of Palatine (later Schaumburg), Illinois. Their first brochure, issued in 1971, used photographs of the last Lehmann-Peterson prototype and also the 1969 Mark III version. It is not known that any additional Mark editions were built, but Moloney continued to build Lincoln limousines following the Lehmann-Peterson design for many years, as well as numerous other Lincoln and Cadillac based conversions of various descriptions. The numbers produced, however, were small because conversions were expensive to build. Cadillac undercut the conversion houses by many thousands of dollars with its factory-built jobs and could have continued to dominate the segment indefinitely.

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Purchased from Earl Moloney by Joseph and Suzanne Scaletta in 1986 and renamed Scaletta Moloney Armoring in 2001. For over 25 years, Scaletta Moloney Armoring has been customizing vehicles to meet the unique protection needs of people throughout the world.

Scaletta Moloney Armoring

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Chicago Armor And Limousine Co www.internationalarmor.com Dublin, IL - http://www.scaletta.com/

now known as Scaletta-Moloney Armoring

Scaletta Moloney Armoring began in the early 1970's as Moloney Coachbuilders, manufacturing limousines that were used all over the world by royalty, heads of state, celebrities, and corporate executives. In the 1980s, the company’s new ownership responded to an increasing global demand for armored passenger vehicles by making armoring its primary focus. The company soon became the leading armorer of U.S. government passenger vehicles. In 2001, to better identify its ownership and the services the company provides, the company changed its name to Scaletta Moloney Armoring.

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Argued October 24, 2001--Decided November 26, 2001

Before Harlington Wood, Jr., Coffey, and Easterbrook, Circuit Judges.

Easterbrook, Circuit Judge. Earle F. Moloney owes his fame and fortune to success in the limousine, armored car, and custom auto rebuilding business. In 1986 he sold his limousine assets, together with the name "Moloney Coach Builders", to Jacques Moore, who incorporated Moloney Coachbuilders, Inc., to carry on the business. Earle agreed not to compete for five years in the stretch limousine business but reserved the right to make armored limousines and custom vehicles extended by less than 20 inches. Disputes ensued. Earle Moloney contended that Moloney Coachbuilders had acquired the right to use "Moloney Coach Builders" as a corporate name but not as a trademark for its products; Earle also
contended that he, rather than Moloney Coachbuilders, retained the business's corporate history (such as the right to say "in business since 1969" and to brag about limousines made for heads of state). Litigation ensued, a judge resolved several issues on the pleadings, see Moloney v. Centner, 727 F. Supp. 1232
(N.D. Ill. 1989), and the rest were settled in 1990, with Moloney Coachbuilders prevailing on all central
issues.

More disputes erupted after the no-competition clause expired and Earle reentered the armored stretch limousine business. Advertisements for Earle's new firm, International Armor & Limousine Company, carried phrases such as "The world's standard in extended limousines was created by E.F. Moloney, the pioneer in the stretch limousine industry" and "A Moloney Owned Entity". After Moloney Coachbuilders protested the use of the Moloney name in connection with Earle's limousine business, International Armor
filed this suit, seeking a declaratory judgment that use of these and similar phrases does not violate sec. 43 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. sec.1125, by making a confusingly false claim of origin. Moloney Coachbuilders responded with a counterclaim (plus a third-party claim against Earle and two of his other firms) contending that Earle's use of his name and corporate history in connection with stretch limousines (armored or not) violates the 1986 contract of sale, the 1990 settlement, and the Lanham Act. The district court concluded that Earle Moloney's use of his name in connection with any stretch limousine business violates the 1990 settlement agreement. Earle and his firms have appealed.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Enter memorandum Opinion and Order. For the foregoing reasons, this court grants the amended motion for attorneys [sic] fees and orders Earle F. Moloney to pay
Moloney Coachbuilders, Inc. $70,521.84 in fees and costs. The original motion is denied as moot. This court also grants the motion for a permanent injunction for the reasons stated herein [sic: "and" missing?] enjoins Eale [sic] F. Moloney, International Armor & Limousine, Limousine Werks, and Chicago Armor &
Limousine, their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys and all other persons in action [sic: active?] concert or participation with them.

For more information please read:

The Professional Car (Quarterly Journal of the Professional Car Society)

Gregg D. Merksamer - Professional Cars: Ambulances, Funeral Cars and Flower Cars

Thomas A. McPherson - American Funeral Cars & Ambulances Since 1900

Carriage Museum of America - Horse-Drawn Funeral Vehicles: 19th Century Funerals

Carriage Museum of America - Horse Drawn - Military, Civilian, Veterinary - Ambulances

Gunter-Michael Koch - Bestattungswagen im Wandel der Zeit

Walt McCall & Tom McPherson - Classic American Ambulances 1900-1979: Photo Archive

Walt McCall & Tom McPherson - Classic American Funeral Vehicles 1900-1980 Photo Archive

Walter M. P. McCall - The American Ambulance 1900-2002

Walter M.P. McCall - American Funeral Vehicles 1883-2003

Michael L. Bromley & Tom Mazza - Stretching It: The Story of the Limousine