Warped Owner Files Suit Against Esteban Carreras Over “The Devil’s Hands” Trademark

There is now a legal fight over cigars that use the words “devil’s hand(s)” in their names.

Last week, in a federal court in Florida, Urban Wolf Management, LLC—a company managed by Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars—filed suit against Esteban Carreras Cigar Co. In its lawsuit, Urban Wolf says that the Esteban Carreras Taken From the Devil’s Hand—a line introduced in July 2022—is infringing upon Urban Wolf’s “The Devil’s Hand” trademark, a mark that it applied for in May 2021 and was granted in August 2022.

Warped announced The Devil’s Hands in mid-2022, though the company’s website indicates the cigar was “brought to life” in 2021.

For its part, Cunningham IP Holdings, LLC—a company that holds many trademarks related to Esteban Carreras—applied for a trademark on “Devil’s Hand” in June 2022, but the application was dismissed due to a failure to reply in August 2023.

Neither Craig Cunnigham, Esteban Carreras’ owner, nor Kyle Gellis, owner of Warped Cigars, replied to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.

On its website, Urban Wolf describes itself as the “investment and management company of the Gellis family.” Per Florida business records, Kyle Gellis is listed as the manager of Urban Wolf, which also holds trademarks for a variety of other cigars sold by Warped. Urban Wolf also uses the same Jupiter, Fla. address as Warped.

In addition to damages, Urban Wolf is also asking for an injunction that prevents Esteban Carreras from “manufacturing, importing, exporting, marketing, advertising, distributing and/or selling cigars or cigar-related products using the name ‘DEVILS HAND’” as well as an order that would require Esteban Carreras to destroy any products that infringe upon the market. Urban Wolf has asked for a jury trial.