Main Course FoodSolutions, a Puerto Rico company, claimed that Kraft Heinz breached Puerto Rico laws when it notified the company that it would no longer be a provider of its products in Puerto Rico and asked it to return materials and documents. Kraft Heinz and Kraft Heinz Puerto Rico moved the lawsuit against it from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Court of First Instance, Superior Court of San Juan to the District of Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
The complaint, which is written in Spanish, was filed on January 14, 2021 and sent to the defendant with an Order to Show Cause the next day, however, Kraft Heinz explained that it did not become aware of the complaint until January 19 when a courtesy copy was sent to its attorneys in another lawsuit.
The plaintiff asked the court in the complaint for injunctive relief requiring that Kraft Heinz continue to use it in the Puerto Rico market. Reportedly the plaintiff has produced almost $13.5 million in sales since 2013. Main Course FoodSolutions claimed that the letter it received in December notifying it of the end of the parties’ agreement was a breach of Puerto Rico’s Act of Sales Representatives because it was “done without just cause.”
Kraft Heinz Puerto Rico was reportedly not a party to the agreement, but was accused of attempting to “interfere in its contractual relationship with Kraft Heinz by sending the termination letter.” Man Course FoodSolutions asked for a $200,000 compensation for damages from the “wrongful intervention.”
The defendants moved the lawsuit claiming that there is a diversity of citizenship and the amount in controversy is large enough for the lawsuit to be heard in the district court. Their Notice of Removal did not contain any arguments against the requested injunction or fee.
The defendants are represented by DLA Piper and the plaintiff is represented by Rivera-Aspinall, Garriga & Fernandini and Sarro Perez-Moris Law Office.
