Medallion Foods, Ralcorp Holdings Request Final Judgment in Frito-Lay Litigation

PLANO, TexasMedallion Foods, Inc., and Ralcorp Holdings, Inc., have asked a federal judge to enter a final judgment following a jury trial that Frito-Lay brought over its bowl-shaped tortilla chips.

On March 1, a jury in Texas found that Frito-Lay's chips were not unlawfully imitated by rival chips. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., had sought $4.5 million in damages and an injunction against Ralcorp Holdings and its subsidiary Medallion Foods for infringement of intellectual property and infractions under Texas law. Instead, the jury of three men and seven woman found no infringement of a patent or trade dress, and awarded no damages to Frito-Lay.

Although the case was decided nearly a month ago, U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant hasn't entered a final judgment. Post-trial motions and an appeal cannot be filed unless final judgment is entered.

"Entering final judgment will reduce confusion for the parties regarding post-trial briefing and will expedite resolution of the parties' post-trial issues," lawyers for Medallion Foods and Ralcorp Holdings wrote in a motion filed on March 15.

Frito-Lay, which opposes the defendants' form of the proposed judgment, hasn't yet responded to the motion. A spokesman for PepsiCo Inc., which owns Frito-Lay, previously said the company was "reviewing its options for post-trial motions and appeal."

Medallion Foods and Ralcorp Holdings have proposed a final judgment that states, in part: "Based on the verdict, the Court enters judgment in favor of Defendants that Plaintiff take nothing by way of its claims. It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that all of Plaintiff's claims against Defendants are dismissed with prejudice."