AGUSTIN RAMIREZ V. MARIO SOTELO, No. 14-55571 (9th Cir. 2014)
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FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 05 2014 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT AGUSTIN RAMIREZ; ANTHONY RAMIREZ; AGUSTIN RAMIREZ, Jr., Plaintiffs - Appellees, v. MARIO SOTELO; RICARDO TARAZON; ARTURO BELTRAN; JORGE GUZMAN, No. 14-55571 D.C. No. 5:13-cv-02155-SJOMRW Central District of California, Riverside MEMORANDUM* Defendants - Appellants, and JUAN ANTONIO SOTELO, Defendant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Cental District of California S. James Otero, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted November 19, 2014 Pasadena, California * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. Before: W. FLETCHER and BYBEE, Circuit Judges, and SINGLETON, Senior District Judge.** Mario Sotelo appeals the district court’s issuance of a preliminary injunction prohibiting him from using the name “Los Caminantes” or any similar form of the name. Sotelo argues that he was a partner in the band known as Los Caminantes pursuant to California law and that plaintiff Agustin Ramirez holds the trademark in constructive trust for the former partnership. We review a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion. Herb Reed Enters. LLC v. Florida Entm’t Mgmt., Inc., 736 F.3d 1239, 1247 (9th Cir. 2013). The district court must support a preliminary injunction with findings of fact, which we review for clear error. Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 508 F.3d 1146, 1157 (9th Cir. 2007). We review a district court’s conclusions of law de novo. Id. Because Sotelo did not offer any evidence beyond his declaration to show that he was a partner in Los Caminantes, see Weiner v. Fleischman, 816 P.2d 892, 897 (Cal. 1991), and Ramirez offered evidence to the contrary, the district court properly concluded that Ramirez demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits. Moreover, the district court did not clearly err in concluding that Sotelo’s continued use of the Los Caminantes mark would irreparably harm its reputational ** The Honorable James K. Singleton, Senior District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, sitting by designation. 2 value. See Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n v. Nat’l Marine Fisheries Serv., 422 F.3d 782, 795 (9th Cir. 2005). Furthermore, because the district court did not err in finding that Ramirez is likely to show that Sotelo was not a partner in Los Caminantes, Sotelo’s corresponding balance of equities argument also fails. Finally, Sotelo does not argue on appeal that Ramirez has failed to show that the public interest favors a preliminary injunction. Therefore, any argument based on this factor is waived. See Planned Parenthood Ariz., Inc. v. Humble, 753 F.3d 905, 917–18 (9th Cir. 2014). In sum, the district court did not abuse its discretion in entering a preliminary injunction against Sotelo and, accordingly, we affirm. AFFIRMED. 3
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