MILWAUKEE — A secretary’s “human error” almost cost PepsiCo, bottler of Aquafina brand bottled water, a $1.26 billion procedural judgment in a suit about trade secrets and Aquafina, the Journal Sentinel reported November 6.

Plaintiffs Charles A. Joyce and James R. Voigt filed suit in April accusing the bottled water giant of using a purification process that the two men had presented in 1981 to PepsiCo bottlers Carolina Canners and Wis-Pak. The plaintiffs allege that the bottlers broke a confidentiality agreement, sharing details of the process with PepsiCo, which then used it to develop the bottled water Aquafina.

At first, PepsiCo repeatedly failed to appear in court, so Jefferson County Circuit Judge Jacqueline Erwin on September 30 awarded the two men a $1.26 billion default judgment before trial, based on PepsiCo’s failure to appear.

However, on November 6, Erwin then vacated the default judgment after PepsiCo’s attorney argued the company had not responded to the April lawsuit until October because of a secretary’s “human error,” the story said. The judge decided that the error had not significantly harmed the plaintiffs.

Further action is expected on substantive issues in the case, but no court dates have yet been set, the Wisconsin Law Journal reported November 10.

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