Contributed to the Puerto Rico chapter of Thomas F. Clasen and Joseph E. Puchner, International Agency & Distribution Agreements, and The In-House Counsel’s Essential Toolkit published by the ABA Section of Business Law’s Committee on Corporate Counsel.

Luis served as President of the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Federal Bar Association in 2004, having served in the Chapter’s Board of Directors in various capacities since 1999. He was a member of the Editorial Board of Federal Lawyer, the FBA’s monthly publication distributed to members at the national level and has contributed to the Puerto Rico chapter of Thomas F. Clasen and Joseph E. Puchner, International Agency & Distribution Agreements, and The In-House Counsel’s Essential Toolkit published by the ABA Section of Business Law’s Committee on Corporate Counsel.

Fiddler González & Rodríguez – Shareholder 1993-2017

Hon. Salvador Casellas, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Nestlé, Kellogg Caribbean Services Company Inc., Kodak, Hormel Foods, Butterball

In a first of its kind, litigation co-chair Luis Oliver-Fraticelli obtained an order of dismissal in a case brought against a client by the Government of Puerto Rico for itself and as parens patriae on behalf of all Puerto Rico citizens as a result of an alleged price-fixing conspiracy among various codefendants to fix the price of certain industrial foam products. The case is one of a series of lawsuits initiated by the Puerto Rico Government in recent years following U.S. Dept. of Justice antitrust investigations and criminal prosecutions in a number of diverse consumer product and food industries. The decision is the first in any of the pending cases to address the merits (or lack thereof) of the Government’s claims. Defendants in the remaining lawsuits will now strive to obtain the same result in the pending cases.

AMG’s litigation team strikes again!  Led by division co-chair Luis Oliver Fraticelli together with junior partner Fabian Rodriguez, the duo successfully won reversal in the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals of a decision by the trial court involving the enforceability of a choice of forum clause in the context of a distribution contract subject to the Puerto Rico Dealer’s Act, the infamous Law 75. The issue comes up often and there is a growing disparity between decisions by local versus federal courts. Here, the issue was made even more interesting by the fact that the underlying contract had expired on its terms, which raised the question as to what terms governed the distribution relationship (and whether such terms included the choice of forum clause or not).

Also, the team notches another win! AMG shareholders Luis A. Oliver Fraticelli and Luis Perez Giusti, together with up and coming junior partner Liana Gutiérrez recently won an appeal before the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals in a case that solidifies previous precedent which had been called into question involving important issues related to tortious interference claims when an employment contract lacks a fixed term. The complaint sought to impose liability on a client claiming that its conduct led plaintiff’s employer to terminate his employment contract. Citing Puerto Rico Supreme Court precedent, the AMG team moved for summary judgment pointing out that the alleged employment contract lacked a fixed term, and therefore plaintiff could not meet one of the essential elements of his cause of action. The Court of Appeals agreed and granted dismissal of the complaint. The AMG team regularly counsel clients with respect to employment contracts in general, including related non-compete agreements and confidentiality issues. Non-compete clauses in Puerto Rico contracts are subject to a reasonableness standard and courts do not use the so-called blue pencil approach, instead declaring such agreements null and void if they are found not to be reasonable.

The AMG intellectual property litigation team of Luis A. Oliver-Fraticelli, Shylene De Jesus and Alexandra Casellas recently beat back a request for injunction that sought to preclude a client’s use of the term “pet friendly” to identify those places that welcome pets into their business premises, instead persuading the trial court to outright dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. The court found that the generic term could not be appropriated as a trademark by plaintiff. AMG’s intellectual property practice group frequently counsels clients with respect to trademark registration issues and represents clients in related litigation to enforce or defend against purported trademark rights.

The AMG litigation team of Luis A. Oliver-Fraticelli and Sarika Angulo scored a big win before the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals when that court recently affirmed a full defense judgment they obtained after a week-long trial earlier this year in a suit brought by the local subsidiary of one of the largest marketing and communications firms in the planet. After trial, the court of first instance issued a take noting judgment, which was recently upheld on appeal. The plaintiff had sought close to $700,000 in fees allegedly owed for advertising and promotional work purportedly incurred on behalf of one of AMG’s clients. The courts agreed with all of AMG’s arguments and ultimately held that the client did not owe any monies.

Is your business dealing with similar issues down the distribution chain? Contact us at your convenience!

Some of the many reported cases he has briefed, tried and/or argued include: Govt of Puerto Rico v. The Carpenter Co., 442 F. Supp. 3d 464 (D.P.R. 2020) (dismissing unjust enrichment claim based on alleged price-fixing conspiracy); PREP Tours, Inc. v. American Youth Soccer Organization, 913 F.3d 11 (1st Cir. 2019)(affirming dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction); Ortiz-Espinosa v. BBVA Securities, 852 F.3d 36 (1st Cir. 2017)(affirming judgment applying look-through approach to sustain federal jurisdiction over review of FINRA arbitration); Medina & Medina Inc. v. Hormel Foods Corporation, 840 F.3d 26 (1st Cir. 2016)(adopting all defense arguments in affirming in part, reversing in part judgment under Puerto Rico Dealer’s Act (Law 75)); Trafon Grp., Inc. v. Butterball, LLC, 820 F.3d 490 (1st Cir. 2016)(affirming judgment on statute of limitations grounds under Puerto Rico Dealer’s Act (Law 75); In Re Puerto Rico Cabotage Antitrust Litigation, 815 F.Supp.2d 448 (2011)(objection to attorney fee request resulting in additional $3MM to plaintiff class); Sterling Merchandising, Inc. v. Nestle, S.A., 656 F.3d 112 (1st Cir. 2011)(affirming judgment dismissing restraint of trade, monopolization and exclusive dealing claims under Sherman Act); Antilles Cement Corp. v. Aalborg Portland A/S, 526 F.Supp.2d 205 (D.P.R. 2007)(enforcing forum selection clause in distribution contract despite Law 75 provisions); B. Fdez. Hnos. v. Kellogg USA, Inc., 440 F.3d 541 (1st Cir. 2006)(reversing judgment under Law 75 that had excluded indispensable party); Eastern Food Services, Inc. v. Pontifical Catholic University Services Ass’n, Inc., 357 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2004)(affirming dismissal of exclusive dealing claims under Sherman Act); Podiatrists Ass’n v. La Cruz Azul de Puerto Rico, Inc., 332 F.3d 6 (1st Cir. 2003)(affirming dismissal of Sherman Act restraint of trade and commercial disparagement claims).