MILWAUKEE - A judge is tossing out a decision — for now at least — that could have cost PepsiCo $1.26 billion after the soft drink maker didn't respond to a lawsuit claiming it stole the idea for bottled water.
The decision Friday by a Wisconsin court means PepsiCo will get its say in court — now that it has found out about the case.
Two men claim PepsiCo violated trade secrets and stole their idea to sell bottled water. A judge sided with them and gave them a default $1.26 billion judgment last month after the company didn't respond.
PepsiCo says it didn't respond for several reasons, including the fact that a secretary who received letters relating to the case failed to act on them.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.
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