Fernandez, Garcia Settle Lawsuit
The lawsuit filed more than a year ago by Eduardo Fernandez, owner of the agricultural conglomerate Aganorsa S.A., against cigarmaker José “Pepin” Garcia and his family has been settled out of court.
Fernandez,
who owned 50 percent of the Miami-based El Rey de Los Habanos factory
as well as half of Tabacalera Cubana S.A. (TACUBA) in Nicaragua, has
agreed to sell his interest in those companies to the Garcias, who are
now sole owners of the enterprise.
Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
Cigar Aficionado spoke
to attorneys representing both the plaintiff and defendants in the
case. The dispute originally centered around the Garcia’s ventures in
Nicaragua, specifically the My Father Cigars S.A. factory where My
Father, Tatuaje Havana VI, San Cristobal, La Aroma de Cuba and other
cigars are now made. Fernandez, who had been a partner with the Garcias
in Tabacalera Cubana, the Garcia’s first cigar factory in Nicaragua, was
not an owner in My Father Cigars.
Fernandez
sought to stop production at the My Father factory, believing the
Garcias to have intentionally channeled business around El Rey de Los
Habanos and Tabacalera Cubana in an effort to circumvent the
partnership.
Both
parties agreed to settle on September 29, and the charges, which
included breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference and civil
conspiracy, were dismissed on September 30.
The case is officially closed.
