Trials & Litigation
PepsiCo Off Hook for $1.26B as Court Reverses Default Judgment
Posted Nov 6, 2009 6:50 PM CST
By Martha Neil
A default judgment that required PepsiCo to pay $1.26B to two men who claimed the soft-drink giant stole their idea for bottled water was overturned today by a Wisconsin court.
PepsiCo, which received material about the lawsuit at an office in the state in which it is incorporated, rather than its New York headquarters, didn't respond to the filing until after the default judgment was issued. Today's ruling allows the company to defend the litigation, which will now proceed toward a new trial, according to the Associated Press and WKOW-TV, a local ABC News affiliate.
The news agency could not reach a lawyer for the two plaintiffs for comment.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: "PepsiCo: Busy Secty, Mislaid Docs to Blame for Missed Hearings & $1.26B Judgment"
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Comments
Delores Jones
Nov 8, 2009 3:10 PM CST
That’s good. Now I can sell my Pepsi stock. What a dummkopf!
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B. McLeod
Nov 8, 2009 3:32 PM CST
I think it was right for the judge to do this (given that there is no appreciable prejudice to the plaintiff), rather than foreclosing defense of a $1.26 Billion claim over a procedural mistake.
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Tenrou
Nov 9, 2009 9:48 AM CST
I’m glad the judge came to his senses on this one and threw out that insane judgment. I was reading this other law blog that discussed how these types of frivolous lawsuits are costing us taxpayer millions each year: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2009/10/16/frivolous-lawsuits-are-a-bad-idea-birther-edition/
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AndytheLawyer
Nov 9, 2009 10:33 AM CST
Tenrou—how the heck do you know yet if this lawsuit is frivolous or not? There’s been no response to the complaint, discovery or trial.
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