Tropicana Prevails in Federal Court Today in Los Angeles; Jury Rejects All of POM's Claims

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Nov 12, 2010, 11:37 ET

CHICAGO, Nov. 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Pom Wonderful LLP v. Tropicana Products, Inc. trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles concluded late today when the jury returned a verdict upholding Tropicana's product labeling and rejecting outright all of POM's claims against Tropicana, a division of PepsiCo. Additionally, the jury found that POM, which initiated the litigation, has "unclean hands" and has not been dealing fairly with consumers in its labeling. Following other recent decisions in litigation initiated by POM against other juicemakers, this is the third case in a matter of months where juries or judges have entered judgments against POM. The product in question in this case was Tropicana Pure Juice Pomegranate Blueberry juice drink, which Tropicana had discontinued more than a year ago. Rick Shackelford of the law firm Greenberg Traurig represented Tropicana in this case.

The following statement can be attributed to PepsiCo Spokesperson Joe Jacuzzi

"We're pleased that we won this case and the jury confirmed that Tropicana's labeling was not misleading. We discontinued the product in question more than a year ago and had no intention of reintroducing it, but we went to trial because we are a principled company that deals honestly with consumers."

About Tropicana Products, Inc.

Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of PepsiCo, Inc., is the leading producer and marketer of branded fruit juices. Tropicana markets its products in the U.S. under a variety of brand names, including the Tropicana not-from-concentrate line of juices; Dole® juices and juice blends; Tropicana® Juices and Tropicana Twister® juice beverages. The Dole brand name is licensed from Dole Food Company, Inc. For more information about Tropicana, visit www.Tropicana.com.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.PepsiCo.com.

SOURCE PepsiCo