TotalEnergies Marketing Puerto Rico Corp. v. Helechal Gas Station, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedApril 26, 2024
Docket3:23-cv-01566
StatusUnknown

This text of TotalEnergies Marketing Puerto Rico Corp. v. Helechal Gas Station, Inc. (TotalEnergies Marketing Puerto Rico Corp. v. Helechal Gas Station, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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TotalEnergies Marketing Puerto Rico Corp. v. Helechal Gas Station, Inc., (prd 2024).

Opinion

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

TOTALENERGIES MARKETING PUERTO RICO CORP.,

Plaintiff,

v. Civil No. 23-1566 (ADC) TEODORO RIVERA-ROBLES, ET AL.,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Pending before the Court is United States Magistrate Judge Giselle López-Soler’s Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) recommending that the Court issue a preliminary injunction in favor of plaintiff TotalEnergies Marketing Puerto Rico Corporation (“TEMPR”). See ECF No. 64. Defendants Helechal Gas Station, Inc. (“Helechal”) and Marilyn Ferai-Haifa (together with Helechal, the “Helechal defendants”) filed objections to the R&R. ECF No. 65.1 TEMPR responded to the objections. ECF No. 66. For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ objections are OVERRULED and the R&R is ADOPTED in whole.

1 The Helechal defendants titled their objections “Motion in Opposition to Report and Recommendation Issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge a[t] Docket 64.” I. Factual and Procedural Background The substantial background of this case to date is adequately contained in the Magistrate Judge’s R&R and needs no repetition here. See R&R, ECF No. 64 at 2-5. The Court will only highlight certain factual and procedural aspects of the case that occurred prior to and after the

Court’s referral of the motion for preliminary injunction for report and recommendation. The Court will also summarize the Magistrate Judge’s relevant findings and recommendations and the parties’ positions thereto. A. The Parties’ Positions before the R&R.

The verified complaint filed by TEMPR on November 9, 2023, alleges that the Helechal defendants, along with co-defendants Teodoro Rivera-Robles, Neida Blanco-Rivera, and their Conjugal Legal Partnership, incurred in violations of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act

(“PMPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 2801, et seq., the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq., and Articles 1168, 1221, and 1222 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code, Act No. 55 of June 1, 2020, codified as 31 L.P.R.A. § 5311, et seq. ECF No. 1. TEMPR essentially alleges that the Helechal defendants misused

TEMPR’s “TOTALENERGIES” mark and are in breach of certain franchise agreements subject to the PMPA related to the operation of a gas station in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, owned by the other defendants in this case. TEMPR moved for both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. ECF

No. 2. This Court granted in part TEMPR’s request and prohibited Helechal from, among other things, “using, altering, manipulating or removing the TOTALENERGIES Brand, trademarks, color patterns, trade dress emblems or other identifications…” and “using, altering, removing or otherwise manipulating the underground storage tanks and other equipment for the storage and dispensing of petroleum products located at the gas station….” ECF No. 11 at 6.2 The matter was then referred to the Magistrate Judge for a report and recommendation on TEMPR’s request

for a preliminary injunction. Id., at 7. On December 7, 2023, the Magistrate Judge held what was to be an evidentiary hearing to consider TEMPR’s request for a preliminary injunction. See R&R, ECF No. 64 at 1. During the hearing, TEMPR “informed that it would submit the matter on the briefs,” whereas the Helechal

defendants elected not to present any testimony. Id., at 1. Instead, the Helechal defendants would rely on their previously filed motion to dismiss and later filed a reply expanding on their arguments. Id., at 1-2; ECF Nos. 23 and 55.

2 The full scope of the temporary restraining order was: [I]t is hereby ORDERED that Helechal Gas Station, Inc.: 1. Is temporarily enjoined from using, altering, manipulating or removing the TOTALENERGIES Brand, trademarks, color patterns, trade dress emblems or other identifications; 2. Is temporarily enjoined from using, altering, removing or otherwise manipulating the underground storage tanks and other equipment for the storage and dispensing of petroleum products located at the gas station; 3. Shall immediately allow TEMPR or its designated agents to take all measures necessary in order to comply with federal and local environmental and safety laws and regulations in connection with the operation and maintenance of the station and the underground tanks; 4. Shall not obstruct or otherwise hinder TEMPR’s temporary rights as delineated in this Order; 5. Shall provide to TEMPR copy of all permits issued by administrative agencies or governmental instrumentalities and account number and copies of invoices for utility services required to operate the gas station and required to facilitate a possible future orderly transition to TEMPR and avoid unnecessary operational interruptions. 6. TEMPR shall give security or post bond in the amount of $10,000.00 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(c). ECF No. 11 at 6-7. The Helechal defendants’ arguments in opposition to the request for preliminary injunction (which double as their arguments for dismissal), boiled down to two assertions. First, that the Court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the dispute because the complaint only alleged a breach of contract dispute under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. ECF

No. 23 at 2-6. Second, that the Court should in any case abstain from exercising jurisdiction under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971) because of the existence of a parallel proceeding initiated by Helechal in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, Caguas Part. ECF No. 55 at 5-10.3

B. The Magistrate Judge’s R&R. The Magistrate Judge issued her R&R on January 25, 2024. ECF No. 64. There, the Magistrate Judge considered both arguments together and rejected them. She first held that the

allegations in the verified complaint facially evinced the presence of federal questions in the form of claims for trademark infringement and dilution under the Lanham Act and for declaratory judgment pursuant to the PMPA. See R&R, ECF No. 64 at 6. She then held that the

existence of a prior state court action commenced by Helechal did not deprive the Court of its jurisdiction. Id. (citing Maldonado-Cabrera v. Angero-Alfaro, 26 F.4th 523, 527 (1st Cir. 2022) and Nazario-Lugo v. Caribevision Holdings, Inc., 670 F.2d 109, 114 (1st Cir. 2012)). And as to the request

3 Recently, TEMPR informed the Court that the Commonwealth court case styled Helechal Gas Station, Inc. v. Teodoro Rivera Robles, et al., Civ. Núm. CG2023CV02990, has been dismissed without prejudice. See ECF No. 71 at 3-4. Nevertheless, the Court cannot take notice of said dismissal as the document filed in support is in Spanish, 48 U.S.C. § 864; L. Civ. R. 5(c), and the information was included in a reply filed without leave of Court. See L. Civ. R. 7(c). for a Younger abstention, the Magistrate Judge reasoned that the Helechal defendants “ha[ve] not explained how the state court proceeding would be suitable to address” TEMPR’s claims under the Lanham Act and the PMPA. See id., at 7. The Magistrate Judge further noted that the Commonwealth court case is principally a breach of contract claim between the Helechal

defendants and the other codefendants, and “[a]s such, the only potential claim pending in state court against TEMPR would be one for extra contractual damages under the Puerto Rico Civil Code.” Id., at n. 5. For these reasons, it concluded that abstention under Younger was unwarranted.

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