On October 7, 2025, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico issued its opinion in Brutal, LLC v. Colegio de Productores de Espectáculos Públicos, 2025 TSPR 97, declaring unconstitutional the mandatory membership requirement imposed on entertainment producers by Law 182-1996 and Law 113-2005.
In a majority opinion authored by Associate Justice Mildred G. Pabón Charneco, the Court held that compulsory association violates the freedom of association guaranteed by Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico.
The full opinion is available here: 2025 TSPR 97 (PDF), and it appears in the Court’s 2025 decisions index.
The Court affirmed earlier rulings from the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeals, concluding that the mandatory college failed the strict-scrutiny test applicable to fundamental rights.
It further noted that entertainment producers are already regulated by the Office of Services to Public Entertainment Promoters (OSPEP) of the Department of Treasury, which continues to oversee the industry without infringing constitutional freedoms.
The decision is a landmark for both constitutional law and the entertainment industry.
El Nuevo Día described the ruling as “changing the rules of the game” for producers, while NotiCel highlighted that OSPEP remains the supervising agency.
El Vocero emphasized that the judgment restores producers’ freedom to operate without compulsory guild membership.
El Diario de Puerto Rico and InDiario also reported on the case, underscoring its broader implications for professional associations across the Island.
MZLS represented Brutal, LLC and its president Manuel Morales Lema throughout the litigation, from the initial complaint to the Supreme Court appeal.
The firm’s litigation team was led by Anthony O. Maceira Zayas, with Edgardo Rivera García, Yazmet Pérez Guisti, Ginnell Torres Adrover, and Bianca S. Sánchez Rivera serving as counsel of record.
In a public statement, Brutal LLC thanked the MZLS team “for their effective representation throughout all stages of this litigation,” describing the ruling as “a reaffirmation of the fundamental right to freedom of association guaranteed by the Constitution of Puerto Rico.”
The ruling allows entertainment producers to obtain or renew OSPEP licenses without being compelled to join a private college.
It also confirms that professional oversight can continue through existing administrative agencies rather than mandatory associations—a precedent likely to influence similar debates in other regulated sectors.
