On Monday, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Inc. filed a notice of removal, preemptively removing a complaint that will soon be filed in Bronx County state court to federal court in New York. The case was filed against Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of New York, Inc. (PCNY) by plaintiffs Roleo Beverage Corp. and Leonard Costa for alleged misconduct involving a distributor agreement between the two parties.
Under the agreement, the notice of removal said, the plaintiffs sell and distribute the defendant’s products throughout a designated part of New York City as a part of their distributorship. If the distributor agreement is terminated by the defendant, court filings say, they would be forced to forfeit the distributorship. The amount cited in the to-be-filed complaint is the plaintiff’s measured value of their distributorship, the defendants say.
The document filed on Monday notes that the complaint will assert claims for breach of contract, declaratory relief, interference with contract, unjust enrichment, interference with prospective and/or actual economic relations, and more. There is said to be a “reasonable probability” that the claims within the soon-to-be-filed complaint will exceed $75,000.00.
The complaint’s associated injunctive relief is said by the plaintiffs to be necessary in order to prevent “the loss of an entire profession or livelihood,” including “Plaintiffs’ invaluable customer relationships, reputation, and goodwill.”
The defendant is represented by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
