Supreme Court clears Pepsi in "349" controversy

[samsungster]

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The Supreme Court has cleared Pepsi-Cola of any liability for a promotional flap that sparked lawsuits and riots 14 years ago.

The June 15 decision, made public Tuesday, found "no proof of negligence" by Pepsi and said the company should not be held liable for damages.

"This should be the defining decision. The lower courts are bound by this decision," said Court spokesman Ismael Khan, referring to numerous suits against Pepsi still pending in trial courts around the country.

In the 1992 "Number Fever" sales campaign, Pepsi-Cola Philippines Inc. offered prizes of up to P1 million to holders of bottle caps with winning numbers.

When the number "349" was announced on May 25, 1992, tens of thousands of Filipinos claimed the prizes, but Pepsi refused to pay all of them, saying the caps did not contain the proper security codes.

Pepsi said a computer glitch picked the number by mistake.

The Court’s Third Division cited at least three earlier decisions in which it said the security code was "an indispensable element of a winning crown.

"The issues surrounding the ‘349’ incident have been laid to rest and must no longer be disturbed in this decision," the Court said.

Pepsi faced more than 1,000 criminal and civil suits, but most have been dismissed, said company lawyer Alexander Poblador. He said the company paid up to P250 million to nearly 500,000 nonwinning claimants as a good-will gesture.

"I think that was a costly way of appeasing the public," Poblador said.

Pepsi’s refusal to pay every claimant also sparked riots and calls for a boycott.

At least 37 company trucks were burned in attacks, including a grenade blast that killed three people in Davao City. The blast forced the company’s Davao plant to suspend operations.

Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, who wrote the decision, said the respondent, Jaime Lacanilao, is not entitled to any payment from Pepsi, because he doesn’t hold a winning crown.

The Court nullified the Court of Appeal’s ruling of February 4, 1999, and resolution dated November 10, 2000, ordering Pepsi to pay Lacanilao P1,050,000.

Pepsi, which bottles 7-Up, Mirinda and Mountain Dew in the Philippines, had hired D. G. Consultores, a Mexican consulting firm, to randomly preselect the winning numbers and send a list of the 60 winning combination with their corresponding security codes.

The process of selecting the winning numbers was conducted with the approval of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

During the initial promotional period from February 17 to May 8, 1992, Pepsi seeded 100 numbers, 60 of which were winning, 510 were nonwinning and the remaining 430 unused.

To ensure that the winning numbers would not be tampered, the DTI required petitioners to submit the list of the winning numbers including their security codes and to deposit the list in a bank safety deposit box.

Because the gimmick was a success, Pepsi extended it for five more weeks, from May 12 to June 12, 1992, and again tapped D.G. Consultores to predetermine the 25 additional numbers from the list of unused numbers.

[godCode]

sus sa kadugay nalang intawn... gi pa impas nalang... naka daug ta raba to ako lola ani...

C O C A - C O L A rules now!

[tackielarla]

hala! dugaya na ini oi! grade 6 pako ani and i do remember having my own 369 tansan...

justice system sa pinas at work... 14 years to reach a decision. well, at least niabot na jud. RIP to 369! Buy pepsi products now! :mrgreen:

[lalakingbisdak]

I thought this issue is dead. Grabe ang justice sa ato mga pepz, it takes that long. My my my. What in a world!

[tackielarla]

if you thought that was long, try the Marcoses ill-gotten wealth. The wife is running around freely, the daughter is a member of the congress, the son is a governor(i think)... and our government is negotiating with them to return just A PORTION of the money, which rightfully belongs to the Filipino nation! imagine what 10 billion DOLLARS could do to our economy...

[slakker]

luoy kaayo tong mga nakakuha sa 349 nga tansan, mura sila'g gi-binuangan sa kapalaran...

[herzabar]

Oh.. the decision was quick.... this is unprecedented......

Half of the Istoryans were probably not even born when this fiasco began....

Half of those involved in "349" are probably DEAD....

Yet another one of those fine examples that reminds us that we are in a TURD WORLD COUNTRY.

By the way.... anyone surprised HEHEHEHE

Well lets stop whining and celebrate this monumentous decision......

[tackielarla]

Oh.. the decision was quick.... this is unprecedented......

Half of the Istoryans were probably not even born when this fiasco began....

Half of those involved in "349" are probably DEAD....

Yet another one of those fine examples that reminds us that we are in a TURD WORLD COUNTRY.

By the way.... anyone surprised HEHEHEHE

Well lets stop whining and celebrate this monumentous decision......

yea... monumentous for Pepsi... PHP 250,000 raba unta tong ako tansan ini... ehehehehe...

[fingolfin]

...yummy. 14 years ago. such fast judicial system we have here. toink. i was still in my grade school years when this happened. it was like as if everybody has won. i have three neighbors who won but when they got to the claiming post they were surprised to see hundreds of people lining up.

[loverjones_80]

ngano karon lang ang resulta?? nya in favor pa sa pepsi!!!!!1