Estrela loses court battle against Mattel, owner of Barbie

Living with old business partners is not leaving Estrela with fond memories. In addition to the clash involving Hasbro –creator of Jogo da Vida and toys such as Comandos em Ação, among others–, to whom it owes BRL 64 million in royalties, the Brazilian toy manufacturer suffers another defeat in court, this time for Mattel , American multinational that owns the Barbie doll.

The judgment issued in July by the 9th Chamber of Private Law of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, to which the sheet had access, denies Estrela’s claim for compensation against Mattel Inc. and its subsidiary, Mattel do Brasil. Estrela and Mattel maintained a commercial partnership for the production, sale and licensing of toys for 30 years.

The Brazilian wanted to be compensated in R$ 64.4 million after the American broke the partnership in the late 90’s, which would have left her at a loss. Estrela claimed to have been forced to withdraw its Susi doll from the market so as not to disrupt Barbie’s sales. The court, however, dismissed the claim.

According to the decision expressed in the judgment, the Brazilian “already suffered considerable financial losses before the end of the partnership with the defendants, which makes the allegation that the deterioration of her financial situation resulted from the termination of the contractual relationship ‘sub judice’ doubtful”. The court found the argument unreasonable.

Also according to the court’s decision, Estrela’s economic situation is the most responsible for the fact that the contract between the parties has not continued. “There is no mention of the defendants being held liable for not entering into the ‘joint venture’ referred to in the letter of intent, since, in addition to being a mere expectation of business, it was proven that the deal was not entered into due to the precariousness of the situation the plaintiff’s financial statement”, informs the judgment.

In addition, according to the decision, Estrela had already agreed with Mattel, in a contract, to release the American company from “any and all actions, processes, costs, damages or expenses arising from the License Agreements (including termination)” (… ) “which makes the claim made in the present action for the repair of damages resulting from the cancellation of the agreement unreasonable”.

Estrela further argued that “the defendants practiced acts of unfair competition, and that the defendants, in an abusive and illegal manner, marketed their products at prices below the market, harming them.” According to the ruling, however, “it is not believable that the plaintiff would have maintained a partnership with the defendants for decades, submitting to abusive contractual conditions”.

At first, the Brazilian had filed a lawsuit against Mattel, asking for compensation for breaching the licensing and distribution partnership agreement. The 17th Civil Court of the Central Court of the District of the Capital denied the request and Estrela filed an appeal, which has now been denied by the 9th Private Law Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice.

The defense of Estrela, made by Wald, Antunes, Vita and Blattner Advogados, has just been reinforced with the entry of Sergio Bermudes Advogados, which informed that it will appeal to the STJ (Superior Court of Justice). “There was an abrupt rupture of the partnership by Mattel, hence the need for compensation to Estrela”, he informed the sheet the lawyer Henrique Ávila, from Sergio Bermudes.

The report contacted Mattel and is awaiting the company’s position.