Canon seeks refund for Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta sponsorship

Canon USA Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit against the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, seeking a $250,000 reimbursement of its presenting sponsorship, claiming the event organizers violated its three-year sponsorship agreement, according to the Albuquerque Journal. The case is Canon U.S.A., Inc. v. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Inc. filed in New Mexico District Court, Case No. 1:21-cv-00410. Canon’s three-year sponsorship began in 2017, with a total value of $720,000. 

The dispute revolves around whether 2020 event was “canceled,” as Canon alleges, or “postponed” – the term fiesta organizers have used to describe last year’s shutdown. According to the report, in June 2020, fiesta officials announced last year’s event had been “postponed” until Oct. 2-10, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canon, however, alleges “the 2021 Fiesta is not being advertised as the postponed or rescheduled 2020 Fiesta.”

The Albuquerque Journal reports balloon fiesta officials twice offered to extend Canon’s sponsorship to the 2021 but was rebuffed: “Canon USA never consented to reschedule the 2020 Fiesta for a mutually agreed upon date. Consequently, regardless of whether (Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta) characterizes its decision as a ‘postponement’ or a ‘cancellation’ … Canon USA was entitled to terminate the agreement” and get a refund of its $250,000 sponsorship fee.”