On Friday, the fight between the Mederos family, owners of the Cubanacan brand, and the González family, who previously made cigars for Cubanacan, entered a courtroom. Omar González-Alemán, his son Luis O. González, and their companies—Soneros Cigars Zone, Inc. and Industria Tabacalera Los Charutos, S.A.—filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court of Southern Florida over trademark infringement, violations of a distribution agreement and payments totaling over $800,000. In July, the González family announced that it was terminating its distribution and production agreements with Cubanacan Cigars. Prior to that, the family—through its Los Charutos Cigar Factory and later La Corona Factory—produced the Cubanacan, H.R., Mederos and Soneros brands, all of which were distributed by Cubanacan Cigars. While Cubanacan owned the eponymous Cubanacan and Mederos brands; the Soneros brand is owned by the González family. In the complaint, Luis O. González alleges that he is the owner of the “H.R.” trademark The González family also alleges that the they are owed over $800,000 by Cubanacan Cigars due to various unpaid bills. In regards to Soneros, the complaint alleges that on or around July 2013, the two parties entered a distribution agreement that would see Cubanacan distribute the Soneros brand for the González family. The ...
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