In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN

SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 3 – Grant Gyesky and two others founded Rise Brewing in New York in 2014, first sold its caffeinated organic beverage in Brooklyn and are now suing PepsiCo for its Mountain Dew "Rise" product.      

  On October 8, 2021 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Lorna G. Schofield held a proceeding. Inner City Press covered it. 

 Gyesky testified that after he met with PepsiCo, the name was stolen and the Mountain Dew copycat was launched.

On cross examination, he could not name the address or attendees, other than one, at the meeting. And Pepsi's lawyer focused on other Rise-named products, and a different position in North Carolina litigation.  

 Midwest sales agents of Rise took the stand, describing being muscled or misled out of Kroger supermarkets in Illinois and Kentucky. It smacks of a David and Goliath story.

  In November, after Inner City Press reported the above on October 9, others reported the stay: "AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER: Having considered the parties' written submissions and the evidence and argument presented at the September 9, 2021, oral argument and October 8, 2021, evidentiary hearing, for the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction.

  Pepsi, in Goliath form, appealed - and got a stay of the stay, at least until a three judge panel can hear it: "The Court grants an administrative stay of the preliminary injunction until it can be considered by the next available three-judge motions panel. In granting this administrative stay, the Court intimates no view on the merits of the stay motion or the preliminary injunction order.. Catherine O'Hagan Wolfe, Clerk USCA for the Second Circuit."

In December, Pepsico informed Judge Schofield they have renamed the product MTN DEW ENERGY, informing retailers of this on November 8.  They acknowledge that some MTN DEW RISE ENERGY products are still on sale; they say these are the property of the retailers.

  The parties on December 16 told Judge Schofield they have agreed to limit the total number of interrogatories to 25.

On March 3, 2022, this: "ORDER: It is hereby ORDERED that, for substantially the reasons stated by Defendant, Defendant's request for production of certain categories of text messages is GRANTED. It is further ORDERED that Defendant's request for documents concerning Plaintiff's "Organic" and "Vanilla" labeling is GRANTED in part. It is further ORDERED that Defendant's request for documents showing Plaintiff's funding of this litigation is DENIED. It is further ORDERED that, by March 10, 2022, Plaintiff shall produce its privilege log. It is further ORDERED that, for substantially the reasons stated by Defendant, Defendant's request for each side to take up to fourteen depositions is GRANTED. It is further ORDERED that Defendant's request to extend discovery by seven weeks is DENIED without prejudice to renewal. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's request for documents related to Defendant's distribution contracts is GRANTED in part. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's request for Defendant to answer certain interrogatories is GRANTED in part. By March 10, 2022, Defendant shall identify any of its current or former employees who attended, or were consulted or informed about, the meetings with or regarding Plaintiff on or around September 20, 2017, May 10, 2018, January 24, 2019, and April 30, 2019. It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's request for documents responsive to Request Nos. 21, 49, and 51 is GRANTED in part."

The case is Riseandshine Corporation v. Pepsico, Inc., 21-cv-6324 (Schofield) 

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA

Mail: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2021 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com