ORLANDO — The estate of a Venezuelan folk music artist claims a Miami food market is illegally using the singer's logo.
The Estate of Simon Diaz Marquez filed a complaint Oct. 13 in federal court against Miami Fine Foods and Avi Assor alleging violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and other claims.
According to the plaintiff's complaint, Marquez performed under the stage name of Tio Simon and was a popular folk music artist in Venezuela who died in 2014. The plaintiff claims the defendants illegally adopted "Tio Simon" in connection with traditional Venezuelan food including advertising goods on its website.
Specifically, the plaintiff alleges the use of the plaintiff's logo, a drawing of a man riding a donkey and wearing a traditional Venezuelan hat, is confusing. The plaintiff claims Tio Simon is commonly portrayed wearing a traditional Venezuelan hat and riding a donkey and that the defendant's marketing misrepresents the connection to Tio Simon and the endorsement of the defendant's goods.
The plaintiff seeks monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. The plaintiff is represented by Matthew Ryan of Haug Partners in West Palm Beach and Ben Natter and Michael Barer of Haug Partnership in New York, New York.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida case number 1:23-CV-23933-FAM