COSTA RICA : GOMEZ Vs. XEROX

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http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/4695/1/br-Memphis-advocate-takes-on-Xerox-in-Latin-American-legal-dispute/Page1.html
COSTA RICA : GOMEZ Vs. XEROX
Memphis advocate takes on Xerox in Latin-American legal
dispute
Garland Reed, the African-American president of the Mid-South
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, finds himself in the middle of a legal
dispute between a business executive in Costa Rica and the company whose
name is synonymous with copying machines.Reed has attached himself to
the cause of Ricardo Gomez, who says his printing business has been hurt
so severely by the actions of Xerox LatinAmerican Holding, Inc., that
he is faced with “no business and now no inheritance to leave my
children.”

Reed, who speaks Spanish fluently, once owned several
businesses in Latin America. In September, Gomez, who doesn’t speak
English, retained Reed to advocate on his behalf in the United
States.Advocacy by Reed on Gomez’s behalf brings into the picture Ursula
M. Burns – Xerox’s first African-American chief executive officer and
the 14th most powerful female in the world, according to Forbes
magazine. Reed has penned a pointed letter to Burns asking her to bring
an end to the legal dispute and Gomez’s angst.

In her response,
Burns said the litigation in Costa Rica “is still an ongoing matter,”
referring further inquiries to the Xerox attorney in charge. The
Tri-State Defender’s call to that attorney’s New York office yielded
this written response from the director of public relations: “According
to our legal department, the case between R.G.M. Createc S.A. and Xerox
LatinAmerican Holdings is still pending in Costa Rica. We strongly
disagree with the plaintiff’s portrayal of the facts; however, it is
Xerox’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.”Final answer, said
Xerox’s attorney in charge, Flor Colon.

Undaunted, Reed has
committed to push forward.
“This is more than a legal issue,” he
said. “This is a human rights issue. Burns is front and center of a
storm that is blowing across Third World countries.”The 21
Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America have been exploited too many
times by U.S. companies, said Reed, adding, “Xerox is a giant company
that took advantage of a small businessman and has prolonged the legal
process until he (Gomez) exhausted all of his funds.”Even though the
abuses didn’t happen under Burns’ watch, Reed said, “She’s thefigurehead
and could be detained or banned from traveling to these countries.”

‘Put
it in a vault’
In a battle of lawsuits, Gomez (R.G.M. Createc
S.A.) is 2-0 against Xerox LatinAmerican Holding Inc., one of nearly 300
Xerox subsidiaries worldwide. He sued Xerox, charging that the
company’s actions led to the ruin of his printing business.In September,
Ricardo Gomez (right) and his attorneys came to Memphis from Costa Rica
to discuss his legal case with Garland Reed, an international
businessman who lived in Latin America and owned businesses there. Gomez
and the attorneys gave Reed the power of attorney to advocate for
Gomez, who has been embroiled in a nearly decade-long court battle with
Xerox LatinAmerican Holding Inc. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Xerox
sued Gomez, charging that he didn’t pay his monthly payment on a lease
agreement. On Sept. 16, 2007, the First Civil Court of San Jose ruled in
favor of Gomez, stating, in part, that, “This type of existing contract
lacks legal discipline, even though the lease exists and is used within
the commercial trade.”And on Aug. 1, 2008, Magistrate Anabelle León
Feoli of the First Division of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa
Rica determined that Xerox had failed – just as Gomez asserted in his
lawsuit – to provide supplies for a Docucolor 12 machine that Gomez had
been leasing from Xerox.The case, said Gomez, was certified, disposed
of, and “put it in a vault” – a Costa Rican legal term for “the case is
officially closed.”Gomez was awarded $8 million in punitive damages.
Xerox has balked at paying that amount. Now Gomez is seeking $20
million.

Gomez has also asked the court to embargo (place a lien
on) the property and assets of Xerox’s four subsidiaries in Costa Rica –
Xerox LatinAmerican Holding, Xerox Costa Rica, Xerox Corp., and Grupo
Di Foto.“I asked for the embargo because Xerox destroyed my business and
my children’sinheritance,” said Gomez, who is represented by attorneys
Rolando Guardiola and Juan Luis Guardiola.Meanwhile, Judge Luis Urena
Monge of the Sixth Civil Court of San Jose ordered attorney Yuri Herrera
Ulate, Xerox’s legal representative in Costa Rica, to surrender the
company’s accounting books.“The court has to look at the books to
determine the value of the company’s stocks and shares,” said Rolando
Guardiola.Ulate, managing partner at the law firm of Daremblum and
Herrera Abogados, filed an appeal in the First Civil Court of San Jose,
but judges Gerardo Parajeles, Alvaro Hernandez and Jorge Lopez denied
his appeal on Dec. 2.

Ulate could not be reached for comment.
“He
(Ulate) said he didn’t have sufficient authority to turn over the
books,” Gomez said.On Jan. 11, three judges – Juan Carlos Brenes, Abel
Jimenez and Jorge Olaso – denied Ulate’s second appeal, this one filed
in the Second Civil Court of San Jose.“The second time in court, the man
said he didn’t have the books,” Gomez said.On Feb. 3, Judge Monge noted
in writing that Ulate “could be criminally charged,” if he fails to
comply with the court’s order to turn over Xerox’s accounting
books.Gomez said he and attorney Rolando Guardiola, a court official and
a police officer made an unannounced – and unsuccessful – visit to
Ulate’s office on Feb. 15 to serve court papers in an attempt to obtain
Xerox’s accounting books.Guardiola said the next attempt to serve court
papers will be to Ulate’s home. And if Ulate doesn’t comply within five
to 10 days, the court will consider him a fugitive of the law, Guardiola
said.

Making the Memphis connection
Last September,
Gomez and his attorneys flew to Memphis to meet with Reed, who had
invited Gomez to participate in the 2009 Mid-South International
Business Expo. Reed was spearheading the expo initiative.“In our
conversation about the expo, Don Ricardo told me he had a problem and
asked if I could help. He said he was in a legal dispute in Costa Rica
with Xerox,” said Reed, who canceled the expo because of the uncertain
economy.

Since Xerox is a Fortune 500 company and headquartered
in the United States, Reed reasoned that it might be possible to use his
influence to end the stalemate. His letter to Burns soon followed.

Reed
translated during the Tri-State Defender’s interview with Gomez, who
said his problems began in 2000 after he could no longer get toner and
spare parts for the Docucolor 12 copier that he was leasing from
Xerox.“They guaranteed me the supplies of toner and spare parts, because
they were the only ones selling them,” Gomez said in September at
Reed’s office in the Clark Tower building.

Gomez had been in
business for more than two decades prior to leasing the copier from
Xerox, which increased his customer base significantly and grew his
printing business twofold, he said.Gomez said business started tapering
off toward the end of 2001 and his company, R.G.M. Createc, started
dying.“We could no longer do the work for our clients because Xerox
failed to provide toner and supplies,” he said.Gomez employed more than
20 people, including his wife, Lucila, and their two children, Gabriela
and Esteban.

According to court documents obtained by the
Tri-State Defender, testimony from Ana Cristina Leon Blanco, a Xerox
salesperson, backed up Gomez’s claim that Xerox had failed to honor its
agreement.“Sometimes the client ordered the supply and Xerox didn’t have
it available,” Blanco testified in court. “Then the client had to wait
until the supply arrived to Costa Rica. The time period could be weeks
or months, depending on the supply.”Reed said Gomez wanted to leave
something for his children.“Now his dreams have been deferred.”

[Author]

March 8, 2010 at 2:05 PM