Chevron Puerto Rico, LLC v. Martinez-Valentin, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3537 (D.P.R. 1-13-11)

Court granted franchisor’s motion for preliminary injunction ordering franchisee to immediately surrender service station and cease using franchisor’s trademarks. Using the four-part traditional standard for injunctive relief, the court held that the franchisor had a likelihood of success because it had provided proper notice of termination based upon the franchisee’s failure to pay substantial sums due and other defaults, including misbranding; that the franchisor would suffer irreparable harm if injunctive relief were not granted because of a loss of market share and harm to customer goodwill caused by the misbranding; that the balance of hardships favored the franchisor; and that injunctive relief would be in the public interest because of the misbranding and environmental risks caused by unmonitored storage tanks.