Federal Judge Sends Charlie Aponte and El Gran Combo to Mediation

Following singer Charly Aponte’s legal victory against El Gran Combo founder Rafael Ethier, federal judge Jay A. Garcia Gregory has ordered the parties to go through mediation to determine a portion of the amount of money that will be awarded to the singer. The royalties must be paid in non-interactive media for the more than 200 recordings he made while he was with the orchestra as one of its lead singers.

As Aponte’s lawyer, José Alfredo Hernández Mayoral, explained, the decision taken by the First Circuit Court in Boston on June 19 in favor of his client resulted in Aponte being required to pay royalties from 2007 to the present. However, Sound Exchange, the company responsible for paying digital royalties, will have to respond to obtain an amount of money that corresponds to the singer from 2013 onwards. The amount that Ether must pay between 2007 and 2013 for the royalties he has already collected in his name will remain in dispute.

To resolve the dispute, a federal judge appointed Judge Giselle Lopez Soler to mediate between the two parties. The order was issued Thursday.

“The Court encourages the parties to engage in good faith negotiation efforts in light of the available evidence and the First Circuit’s ruling. In preparation for mediation, the parties must file a joint preliminary order pursuant to Local Rule 16(d), not to exceed 30 pages, at least one week before the mediation hearing, unless the judge determines otherwise. If mediation is unsuccessful, the Court will set deadlines for filing motions and schedule a preliminary conference,” Garcia Gregory said.

As determined by the First Circuit of Appeals, Aponte and other key members of El Gran Combo, such as Jerry Rivas, are entitled to 45% of the royalties generated from the songs in which they participated.

The company responsible for paying the royalties, Sound Exchange, has kept the funds frozen since the summer of 2016, due to Aponte’s claims.

Hernández Mayoral said the company was responsible for payments made up to three years before the controversy. That’s why the date was set for 2013. So the company that owns El Gran Combo, EGC Corp and the orchestra will be responsible for the other element.

In short, the lawyer stressed that it is up to him to “return the money that Ether received, because it does not belong to him.”

Hernández Mayoral said Sound Exchange is already making calculations about how much it will have to pay each member of El Gran Combo before the appellate court determines. Now, through mediation, the other item in dispute will be determined.

The two parties still do not have a specific date for the start of the mediation process.

Aponte’s lawsuit began in 2017 when he claimed to Sound Exchange that he was a featured artist, or “featured artist,” within El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, and therefore entitled to 45% of the congressional funds from the United States that are given to singers, musicians, and other talent who participate in a recording when it is played by a non-interactive medium, such as Pandora and iHeartRadio, which act as pre-programmed stations.

In 2019, a lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Hato Rey and resolved this summer on appeal.