E. & J. Gallo Winery v. Andina Licores S.A.

E & J Gallo Winery (Gallo) appeals from the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction to enjoin Andina Licores S.A. (Andina) from proceeding with litigation in Ecuador. We have jurisdiction over this interlocutory appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292 (a)(1). We reverse and remand to the district court with instructions to grant the injunction.

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Gallo, a large winery headquartered in Modesto, California, entered into a distributorship agreement with Andina Licores CIA LTDA, a wine and liquor distributor headquartered in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 1978. The distributor later changed its structure to become a corporation and changed its name to Andina Licores, S.A, the defendant-appellee in this appeal.

In 1987, Gallo and Andina executed an updated distributorship agreement, in which Andina was substituted for its predecessor-in-interest. Both the 1987 Agreement and the 1978 Agreement have the same forum selection and choice-of-law clauses in favor of California:

In April and May 2004, Gallo and Andi-na exchanged letters over various disputes, including whether Gallo had delivered three shipments late and whether Andina was an exclusive distributor of Gallo products. In…