The Regional Court of Barcelona ruled in favor of the Tous company in its legal dispute with the La Riviera group, which belongs to the Wisa group, its former partner in Colombia. Both companies They filed a lawsuit against the Catalan jewelery company, which went bankrupt in June 2016 Contractual relationship with them, which has been developing the franchise of the brand in the South American country since 2009.
Thus, the Court confirmed the first instance decision of a court in Barcelona, which justified the breach of contract after the United States included in the summons the Wisa Group and its main shareholder, the powerful Colombian businessman A. Waked. Clinton list. This is blacklist The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) includes: to companies and individuals connected to or involved in money derived from drug trafficking.
The Catalan jewelery company defended resolving the brand usage agreement on the grounds that many points of the franchise agreement were violated. These include the damage to the company’s image following communication from the aforementioned Washington organization.
Extended contract
The relationship between Tous Franquicias and La Riviera Group was completely satisfactory until 2016. The first franchise agreement, signed for five years in September 2009 to operate the Tous brand in this country, was repeatedly extended until the last extension in 2015. It was decided to extend the validity of the contract until April 30, 2020. When Tous terminated the contract, the franchisee had opened 13 brand stores, but was expected to open 22 stores in total.
La Riviera claimed that it thanked them in its lawsuit for compensation.and “we ensured that the brand was implemented in Colombia, where it was previously located.” [Tous] “it was unknown” and argued that the company was involved. Clinton list It was Wisa Group, not La Riviera. He also added that the Group’s lawyers are trying to speed up the dismissal process. “Because the charges against the group were dropped in Panama.”
He stated that, according to their defense, in order for the contract to be terminated, an unrealized criminal conviction must have occurred, and added: Moreover, its inclusion in the ‘Clinton list’ did not hinder the continued development of business activities. Until Tous requested an injunction from the Colombian Ministry of Tourism and Industry.
Based on all this, the plaintiff claimed damages from Tous in the total amount of 16,000 million Colombian pesos.This corresponds to 3.4 million euros.
legitimate measure
In January 2022, the 39th Court of First Instance of Barcelona rejected the Colombian companies’ claim on the grounds that “the existence of a unilateral and unfounded decision” was not proven. Moreover, as he stated in his decision, the decision was due to the “legitimate protection measure of the rights holder franchisor” at many points of the signed contract. Among them were: Due to damage to reputation and failure to comply with the “guidelines, rules and guidelines” imposed by the parent company, it was inappropriate to declare contractual liability at the defendant’s expense.
In its appeal, La Riviera argued that some clauses of the contract were not implemented correctly, as they felt that there was no “fault” on the brand due to the stores remaining open. Likewise, they argued that the events could not be attributed to the franchisee or that the inclusion of a company in Colombia on the ‘Clinton list’ was not grounds for terminating a contract. Likewise, they argued that the decision of the above-mentioned judicial body was also valid. United States of America It did not make the implementation of the signed agreement impossible.
In its decision dated July 30, available to El Periódico de España from Prensa Ibérica, the Provincial Court demolishes all of the plaintiff’s claims. As a result, the inclusion of Wisa Group in the OFAC list It represented a serious and widespread change in the franchise agreement “complicating the operation of La Riviera due to the inability to make payments through the banking system, to make sales by electronic card and, ultimately, to use the banking services necessary for the management of a company with more than a thousand employees in Colombia”
In his decision, he reminds that marketing is done with metallic cash outside of banking operations. It may be legal in Colombia, but it is not allowed in our country. and Justice insists that the contract is governed by Spanish legislation. In its decision, the court considers that the consequences of this situation cannot be transferred to the franchisor and that the change in operation and its impact on the international reputation of the brand cannot be taken into account. “Based on the terms made, they more than justify the termination of the contract.”
For this reason, the court emphasizes that since it is a “just” decision, there is “no right to compensation for damages” for the plaintiff. Therefore, the objection was rejected and the plaintiff was ordered to pay the costs. There is no objection to the sentence.