William M. Nassar & Associates Obtains $7.2 Million Judgment For Alberto’s Mexican Restaurants Against Two Illegal Operators
Riverside, CA (PRWEB) March 31, 2015 -- The Law Offices of William M. Nassar & Associates announces it obtained a $7.2 million judgment from the Honorable Judge Sharon Waters of Riverside Superior Court on March 18, 2015, Case CIVDS1300637, in favor of its client Chaparros Mexican Food Inc., of Oceanside, CA, owner of Alberto’s Mexican Restaurants, versus Jose Alvarez and Franklin Rodriguez.
William M. Nassar, attorney for Alberto’s said, “This victory has been a long time coming, and the additional terms of the judgment are just as important as the monetary damages themselves.” The company operates 65 restaurant locations throughout California and Southern Utah.
Court documents show the court previously issued and has now made permanent an injunction against the defendants Alvarez and Rodriguez pertaining to seven restaurants in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The injunction also included the use of a variety of trademarks that violate those owned by Alberto’s. Alvarez and Rodriguez changed their restaurant signs from “Alberto’s” to Albetos, Ericbertos, and Alvarros, which caused a great deal of confusion to the general public.
The court documents also recognize that Alvarez and Rodriguez have been violating Alberto’s trademarks for over three years even after the court ordered them to turn the stores over to Chaparros and not to open any new stores in a manner that would violate the trademarks owned by Chaparros. As a result of the ongoing violations the judge issued warrants for the arrest of both Alvarez and Rodriguez with bail being set in the amount of $500,000 each.
Nassar said, “The parties have been embroiled in litigation as a result of Alvarez’s interference with Chaparros operators. Many locations have been lost and or have not paid their license fees resulting in additional law suits. We have settled all other law suits with the exception of one more in San Bernardino County, which we are hopeful will be settled soon.” Court documents list this case as Chaparros Mexican Food versus Rosa Ornelas: CIVDS 1302729.
Julia Silva, the Operations Officer for Chaparros, said, “That while this is an absolute victory and we are extremely pleased with our attorneys and the outcome, however the damages that Alvarez and Rodriguez caused the business have been far reaching. We look forward to working more closely with our current licensors and bringing Alberto’s back to an exciting and profitable level of business that we can be proud of.”
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For additional information please contact William M. Nassar at the Law Offices of William M. Nassar & Associates, Inc., Tel: (909) 307-2000 or email wnassar(at)nassarlaw.com.
Randy Brown, RBMC, +1 9093351941, [email protected]
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