No Show In Wis. Court Could Cost PepsiCo $1.26B

EMILY FREDRIX

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Two men who claim PepsiCo stole their idea to sell bottled water sued the snack and drink maker in Wisconsin and won a $1.26 billion judgment last month after the company didn't respond.

PepsiCo, which calls the accusations "dubious," says it didn't know about the lawsuit until almost a week after the court granted the award without a trial.

The company wants the court to toss out the ruling, known as a default judgment, or at least give PepsiCo a chance to fight the accusations.

PepsiCo said part of the problem was it was served the lawsuit in North Carolina, where it is incorporated, instead of Purchase, N.Y., where it is based. Later, a secretary who received letters relating to the case failed to act on them.

Spokesman Joe Jacuzzi said PepsiCo wants to fight the claims but acknowledges it failed to respond because of "an internal process issue."

It's likely PepsiCo will get to make its case and won't have to pay the $1.26 billion because judges tend to be lenient about enforcing default judgments, said Myron Moskovitz, a law professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Judges don't want to deprive anyone of their right to be heard in court, he said.