Triangulo (Curitiba, Brazil) has petitioned the U.S. District Court in Miami to enforce an arbitration tribunal's award ordering BR-111 (Medley, Fla.) to pay Triangulo nearly $1.6 million and to cease using the "Triangulo Engineered" trademark. The money owed Triangulo is for unpaid invoices, interest on those invoices and attorney's fees, according to the petition submitted to the court. Within three to four months, a judge will make a ruling on the petition.
On June 22 both Triangulo and BR-111 agreed to engage in arbitration to settle disputes over the unpaid invoices and use of the disputed trademark. The arbitration tribunal concluded that BR-111 should pay Triangulo for the unpaid invoices and that it had no right to use the "Triangulo Engineered" trademark after the two companies severed ties in October 2008; until then, Triangulo was a private label wood flooring supplier to BR-111. According to the petition, BR-111 has "failed to adhere to the terms" of the tribunal's decision.
BR-111 President Ricardo Moraes declined to comment on the matter.
According to Doug Leigh, Triangulo's director of operations in North America, BR-111 continued to attach the "Triangulo Engineered" trademark to products from suppliers other than Triangulo after the two companies cut ties more than two years ago.
Quinn Smith, an attorney for Triangulo, said it's "an exception to the rule" when a party involved in arbitration does not follow the terms set by the tribunal.
Triangulo launched its eponymous flooring line in 2009. The company has a warehouse and offices in Virginia and other offices in Atlanta. Leigh can be reached at 678/488-7283 or [email protected].
