Juan José Retamero, owner of Aisa Group, won a favorable ruling of $16 million against the defendants, Marcelo Bocardo, Jugos Australes S.A., and Eco Green International LLC, in a multi-million dollar case involving the bulk purchase of wine and grape must that ended up in court. After achieving a favorable ruling in the courts of the Third Civil, Commercial, Mining and Tax Chamber of Mendoza, Juan José Retamero, head of Aisa Group, decided to allocate more than $500 million to public works in Argentina. The ruling holds the firms EcoGreen International LLC, its head Marcelo Bocardo, and Jugos Australes S.A. liable for the damage caused, which consisted of a breach of contract for failing to deliver the agreed-upon product, concentrated must, despite receiving the corresponding payment from Retamero's firm, Iberte. The sentence obliges the defendants to pay more than $16,000,000 to Iberte. In this case, Bocardo and his companies have been identified as responsible for the damage caused to Iberte, and will have to pay a sum that, with interest, we calculate at over $16,000,000,” stated Carlos Aguinaga, a lawyer for Iberte. A donation that promises to be historic. But how can one donate $500 million over 30 years when the amount from the lawsuit was around $16 million? In this way, it is expected that investment in social projects will reach close to $500 million over 30 years, which would be one of the largest donations of this type in the history of Argentina. For Spanish businessman Juan José Retamero, also the owner of the Chubut fishing company, Cabo Vírgenes, and the gold and silver mine Gualcamayo in San Juan province, “...the ruling sends a clear signal about the legal security that investors have in the country, by ratifying that contractual commitments must be fulfilled and that non-compliance entails effective sanctions.” The ruling puts the executives of Fecovita on alert due to the similarity of the cases and the precedents established with this resolution. Retamero is a connoisseur of good Malbec, and through subsidiary companies and local partners, he entered the complicated business of bulk wine and grape must purchasing with the Mendoza cooperative Fecovita. Fecovita is one of the largest wine producers in the world, but the business with the Spanish businessman ended badly and was litigated in the Mendoza and national courts with cross-accusations. The recent ruling from October 27 can serve as a precedent for a future judicial decision that promises to be multi-million dollar. Fecovita and Iberte joined forces years ago to create Evisa, a company designed to export wine and must jointly. Retamero explained to Noticias Argentinas that “...100% of the funds that can be recovered from various legal cases for the recovery of sums paid without the product being delivered will be invested in one or more photovoltaic parks that the group has under development. The return generated by that investment will be donated in Argentina to public works and social development projects.” That is, 100% of the annual return from that investment will be destined for public works in Argentina, channeled through the foundation created by the group. Fecovita provided the wine production, and Iberte handled international marketing. A strategic alliance that allowed Fecovita to continue gaining market share abroad and Iberte to consolidate itself as one of the world's largest exporters of must. However, in 2023, the companies ended their partnership, and Fecovita, which groups together more than 5,000 Argentine vine growers, denounced that Iberte had not met the volumes and prices agreed upon in the contract, while Iberte claims that Fecovita received $32 million and never delivered the paid-for goods. In the recent ruling won by Iberte, for which Retamero is its legal representative, the arbitral award that ended the dispute between Iberte and EcoGreen International LLC, a company of Marcelo Bocardo, was ratified, and it can serve as a precedent for future judicial decisions. The judicial document establishes that the co-defendants - EcoGreen, Jugos Australes S.A., and Bocardo - must respond jointly and severally to Iberte for the sum of $12,195,750, plus interest from the mora, a sum that currently exceeds $16,000,000. In fact, the imposition of a pledge guarantee on Bocardo's shares reinforces the dimension of personal responsibility, and not just corporate, in the breach. Finally, the court agreed with Iberte's argument, considering that the failure to deliver products for which payment had been made caused the damage that will now have to be compensated. "Beyond ratifying the damage caused by Marcelo Bocardo and its criminal implications, with this sentence, the Mendoza judiciary sends a clear message: when an obligation is agreed upon, its systematic default constitutes more than mere delay; liability can extend to the principal debtor, the guarantors, and those who benefit from the corporate articulation surrounding the contract."
