Opinion ID: 4015399
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Relationship Sours: A Tale of Two Lawsuits

Text: Rodríguez worked for Coquico for four years, but became disgruntled when Benin continued to withhold compensation and loan repayments from him even as the company began making money. Eventually, Rodríguez left Coquico and filed a collection claim against the company in San Juan Superior Court for money owed.2 And that's not all. After filing suit, Rodríguez approached Coquico's suppliers and began to distribute apparently similar plush-toy coquís himself in Puerto Rico through his own company, Identiko, Inc. (Identiko). In response to this upstart venture, Coquico sued Identiko and Rodríguez in federal court in Puerto 1 Coquico is a Pennsylvania corporation with a registered office in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Benin is its Chief Executive Officer and principal shareholder. 2 Rodríguez alleged that Coquico owed him $165,000 in salary and expenses, $119,000 in commissions, and $99,402 in unpaid loans. - 3 - Rico for, among other things, copyright infringement, alleging that Rodríguez and Identiko had infringed Coquico's copyrights for the coquí plush-toys (more on this later). For the reader's ease, we refer to this as the copyright action from here on out. After a preliminary injunction hearing in the copyright action, the district court entered an order enjoining Rodríguez and Identiko from continuing to market the plush-toy coquís.3 Coquico then sought contempt sanctions and damages before the district court. In turn, Rodríguez dismissed, without prejudice, his collection claim, which had still been pending in San Juan Superior Court, and re-filed the action in federal court in Puerto Rico against Coquico, Benin, and Benin's wife, Phillipa Ashby, seeking payment of his promised wages and loan money.4 It is this collection action that is the case at issue here. 3 Rodríguez and Identiko filed an interlocutory appeal challenging the injunction, and this court affirmed. See Coquico, Inc. v. Rodríguez-Miranda, 562 F.3d 62, 65 (1st Cir. 2009). 4 Rodríguez initially sought to pursue these claims as a counterclaim against Coquico in the copyright action, but the district court denied his request to amend his answer. In his complaint in the collection action, Rodríguez initially included a claim for defamation, alleging that Benin had knowingly and falsely accused Rodríguez of using his political influence (as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives since 2008) to gain an advantage in the copyright litigation. Rodríguez later voluntarily dismissed his defamation claim. - 4 - Both cases moved forward in parallel proceedings before different district judges.5 In the copyright infringement action, the district court found that Identiko and Rodríguez infringed [Coquico's] copyrights and that [Coquico was] therefore entitled to recover damages. Coquico, Inc. v. Rodríguez-Miranda, No. 071432 JP, 2010 WL 3372388, at  (D.P.R. Aug. 24, 2010). But Coquico elected to seek statutory damages in lieu of actual damages, and, on August 24, 2010, the district court awarded Coquico $15,000 based on the evidence presented at the bench trial. Id. at -3. As for the collection action, it went to trial, and, on July 27, 2011, a jury found for Rodríguez against Coquico only6 in the amount of $348,821.23.7 Coquico did not appeal, and, on September 19, 2011, the district court issued a writ of execution of judgment.