Bakery Owner Retains Name

Judge Rules in Humphreys Case, Handing a Victory to Mr. Diaz on Rights to Name, Recipes; Civil Trial Still Possible

By IAN FEIN

Humphreys owner Joseph (Michael) Diaz may continue to use the bakery's name and recipes at his down-Island locations, a superior court judge ruled on Friday.

In a Solomonic decision seen as largely favorable to Mr. Diaz, the Hon. Richard T. Moses both allowed and denied in part a request for preliminary injunction filed by Mr. Diaz's aunt and former landlord, Joyce Duarte, in Dukes County Superior Court on May 25.

Mrs. Duarte tried to block Mr. Diaz from using the Humphreys name, recipes and telephone number, claiming that she would lose business at her yet-to-be-opened North Tisbury location during the busy summer season.

Judge Moses heard arguments on the motion two weeks ago in Bristol County Superior Court at Fall River, because there was no sitting superior court judge in Dukes County.

"First of all, Duarte has just this week filed for the requisite permits to open up a bakery at the West Tisbury location so there does not appear to be any impending damage to her business that requires injunctive relief," the judge wrote in the 14-page decision. "Secondly, allowing Michael to continue to operate under the Humphreys name in the short term will likely only improve the value of the Humphreys mark," he added.

"Under Michael's stewardship, the bakery has won Best of the Vineyard awards thereby bringing greater value to the trademark," Judge Moses continued. "Enjoining Michael from using the recipes or the trademarks could do substantial damage to a going concern for which Michael has invested substantial time and money over the past eight years."

Reached yesterday at his newest Humphreys location in Vineyard Haven, which he expects to open sometime in July, Mr. Diaz said he was pleased with the decision.

"To have a judge say that made me and my wife very happy," Mr. Diaz said.

Mrs. Duarte did not return a telephone call for comment.

The court decision also stipulated that Mr. Diaz must provide copies of any original Humphreys' family recipes in his possession to Mrs. Duarte within two weeks, although he is not required to supply recipes that he modified or created. Mr. Diaz said yesterday that there are no copies of any original Humphreys' recipes.

"Supposedly there was some box of master recipes. But there's nothing that's still exactly the same as it was," Mr. Diaz said. "Any old-timer will tell you that the buttercrunch cookies are different than they were 25 year ago. What these people don't understand is that there is no magic box in there that will allow them to suddenly become Humphreys."

Mrs. Duarte also charged that Mr. Diaz wrongfully removed equipment from the North Tisbury bakery when he moved out in December, but Judge Moses declined to issue any order pertaining to equipment allegedly removed from the bakery.

The judge also ruled that Mr. Diaz may continue to use the bakery's traditional phone number, at least until Mrs. Duarte begins her operation at the original North Tisbury location. When Mrs. Duarte opens the West Tisbury shop, then both parties must take steps to advise the public that the two bakeries are not associated, the judge wrote.

Mrs. Duarte has said that she intends to open a bakery in the well-known North Tisbury location at the intersection of State and North Roads. On June 2 she went before the West Tisbury board of health for a preliminary discussion about opening a food establishment. A permit application filed for the Vineyard Foodshop, which was the official name of the old family bakery, does not list a proposed opening date.

With the preliminary injunction now decided, the civil complaint is set to go to a jury trial, although the ruling on the injunction casts doubt on the likelihood that the plaintiffs will win the case on the merits. Judge Moses suggested in his decision that both parties seek to expedite the assignment of a trial date.

Mr. Diaz said yesterday that he will be surprised if Mrs. Duarte decides to pursue the case any further.

"A judge looked at all evidence, and he deemed it that I should have the name," Mr. Diaz said. "Certainly they can go further with it, but any lawyer would advise them not to. Their allegations are totally ridiculous and absurd."

In the original complaint Mrs. Duarte, a resident of Waterville, Me., who in 2003 inherited the estate of her brother, Bartlett Humphreys, sued Mr. Diaz, the husband of her niece Donna, for alleged trademark violations and breach of contract, among other things. She charged that Mr. Diaz fraudulently appropriated the bakery's name, telephone number and recipes for his other business locations in Edgartown and Oak Bluffs.

Mr. Diaz began working for Mr. Humphreys in 1992 and took over the bakery operation in 1996. He rented the landmark North Tisbury building from Mr. Humphreys and ran the business there until last December, when Mrs. Duarte told Mr. Diaz that she would not renew the lease he had signed with Mr. Humphreys.

The central question at the preliminary injunction hearing two weeks ago was whether Mr. Humphreys intended to give the business to Mr. Diaz when he handed over the operations in 1996.

Judge Moses spelled out the conflicting accounts in his decision. There was talk on both sides about how Mr. Humphreys, after retiring in 1996, would visit the bakery and sit in his chair with a coffee mug from his house.

"Bartlett allegedly told Duarte repeatedly that this was to remind Michael that Bartlett was the owner of the bakery," Judge Moses wrote. "Some of the people who regularly met Bartlett at the Vineyard Foodshop described this ritual differently," he added.

"According to Michael's daughter, who wrote about her great-uncle in an English essay, Bartlett religiously came to the Vineyard Foodshop during his retirement to meet up with the ‘three o'clock gang' - a few other retirees including Samuel Stevenson and Bill Haynes - to pass the afternoon over a cup of coffee."

The court decision cites passages from depositions of both Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Haynes.

Mr. Haynes, who lives in North Tisbury across the street from the old Vineyard Foodshop, recalled a conversation he had when Mr. Humphreys said that he was impressed with how well Mr. Diaz was doing with his West Tisbury and Edgartown businesses.

Judge Moses hinged a piece of his decision on Mr. Diaz' Edgartown location, which opened in 2002, prior to Mr. Humphreys' death.

"There is no evidence that Bartlett made any attempt to restrict the use of the Humphreys name or recipes in the Edgartown store, and Duarte has waited more than two years after Bartlett's death to seek relief," Justice Moses said. "Duarte has not given any justifiable excuse for this delay."

Mr. Diaz said yesterday that he felt redeemed by the court's decision.

"I feel like this is definitely a victory for my wife and I because we knew all along that Bart had intended this - for me to be able to use the name Humphreys," Mr. Diaz said. "For them to make false accusations and even raise that question in my customers' eyes, it was very hurtful to me. Because I don't want anybody to think I've done anything dishonest."