Coca-Cola bottlers suit moves to Atlanta

A Feb. 17 injunction filed by the bottlers, and spearheaded by Springfield-based Ozarks Coca-Cola Dr Pepper Bottling Co., is on hold after a change of venue for the injunction’s hearing was granted March 17. The hearing originally was set for March 28–29 in Kansas City but will be moved to Atlanta on an undetermined date. Both Coca-Cola Co. and CCE have headquarters in Atlanta.

Until a new judge is assigned to the case and the hearing is rescheduled, CCE spokesperson Laura Asman said the bottler will “proceed as planned” with warehouse delivery in its territories across the country.

Sally Hargis, vice president of corporate strategy at Ozarks Coca-Cola, said the Springfield bottler will not be affected by CCE’s delivery change and will continue to deliver its Powerade product directly to stores.

Bottlers had requested that the court stop CCE’s plan to deliver its Powerade product to warehouses – rather than directly to stores – because they say the move would set a precedent, and all bottlers could soon be required to use the warehouse delivery method. Bottlers say that new method could hurt client relationships and reduce Powerade’s profitability because bottlers would no longer control shelf placement and appearance.

The bottlers Feb. 14 filed a related lawsuit against both Coca-Cola Co. and CCE. That suit alleges the two broke a contractual agreement in their plan to deliver Powerade via warehouse delivery.

On March 7, the Coca-Cola Co. filed a motion to dismiss the suit and to change the venue. Coca-Cola Co. spokesperson Dan Schafer has said each bottler operates under a separate Powerade contract and cannot dictate what another bottler does. He said the company requested the change of venue because many details of the case are related to the Atlanta area.

“The judge said the case will proceed more expeditiously and conveniently in Atlanta because of the presence in the district of the Coca-Cola Co., Coca-Cola Enterprises, the Coca-Cola Bottlers Association, many of the witnesses, much of the relevant documentation,” Schafer said. “The district court in Georgia will have a more thorough understanding of Georgia law.”

Bryan Wade, attorney for Ozarks Coca-Cola, said the change of venue did not come as a surprise because of the convenience factor, and he doesn’t expect Coca-Cola to receive a more favorable ruling because of the change.

“The physical location will be changed, but that’s the only impact it will have on the case, to my knowledge,” said Wade, who works in Husch & Eppenberger’s Springfield office. “There’s been no ruling about any issues concerning the merits of the case.”

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s March 31 free e-news Daily Update. Register at sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]