PepsiCo No Show Costs Drinks Giant $1.26bn

PepsiCo has been ordered to pay two Wisconsin men who claimed it stole their idea of selling water in bottles $1.26bn after the drinks giant failed to turn up in court.

According to the Journal Sentinel, PepsiCo is pushing to have the award, based on its Aquifina product, rescinded.

The men filed the case in April and the damage award was handed down on 30 September, however, PepsiCo said its people involved in the case were not even aware of the award until 5 October.

A spokesman told Associated Press “internal process issues” stopped the news from reaching the top before PepsiCo had a chance to appear in court.

The company said a secretary at the company had been too busy to treat the court injunction with care.

Charles A Joyce and James R Voigt said the company entered in confidentiality agreements with them for a new purified water product they had developed and years later PepsiCo started distribution of its purified water product.

The duo said the product was created using knowledge they had provided to Pepsi on their own water product.