The legal counsel hired by China's biggest beverage maker to
fight a lawsuit filed by Groupe Danone in Los Angeles has quit,
lawyers of the French yogurt maker said yesterday.
Latham Watkins, one of the biggest law firms in the United
States, officially filed a paper to a Los Angels court last Friday,
saying that the firm will no longer represent the case for Wahaha,
Chen Dong, a Chinese lawyer of Bingham McCutchen, the US legal
counsel of Danone, told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
The feud between Wahaha and the world's largest yogurt maker has
been running for almost five months after Danone filed a lawsuit to
sue Hangzhou-based Wahaha as well as its British Virgin
Island-registered parent company in Los Angels on June 4.
The withdrawal came two weeks after Latham Watkins hinted in
court on October 25 that it was unsure whether it can continue to
offer legal services for Wahaha as the case may "compromise the
firm's professional obligations," Chen recalled.
But so far the firm hasn't explained its unexpected resignation
due to a confidential bond between the company and its clients.
A spokesman of Wahaha declined to confirm the news.
Quinn Emanuel, another US-based law firm, will take the case for
Wahaha, according to Guangzhou-based 21st Century Business
Herald. Quinn Emanuel is a firm which has tried over 1,175
cases and won 1,078, or 92 percent, the company said on its
Website.
The departure of Latham Watkins will have little effect on the
ongoing suit but may cause the case to last longer as the new
attorneys will request the court for more time for them to be
familiar with the case, Chen said.
Danone, which set up a joint venture with Wahaha Group in 1996,
alleged in the suit that Hangzhou-based Hongsheng Beverage is
selling Wahaha-branded beverages without license, and that the
drinks are the same as the product made by its joint venture with
Wahaha Group. Hongsheng is a subsidiary of Wahaha Group.
Danone sought more than US$100 million for the alleged illegal
sales.
Danone also alleged the beverages were sold through the same
vendors and suppliers as Danone's joint ventures without
permission.
In the lawsuit, the French firm also sued Ever Maple Trading
Ltd, a Virgin Island company, as it is the major shareholder and
controller of Hongsheng.
Besides, Kelly Fuli Zong, the daughter of Wahaha's chairman Zong
Qinghou and Shi Youzhen, Zong's wife also became defendants in the
case as Danone claimed that the two have close links to Hongsheng
and Ever Maple.
(Shanghai Daily November 14, 2007)
