Secretarial Mistake Costs Pepsi $1.26 Billion
9gezegen writes "Pepsi learned that if it wants to continue to 'Refresh Everything,' it needs an extra $1.26 billion. It looks like one of the secretaries forget to inform company lawyers about a trade secrets case in a Wisconsin state court. When nobody arrived to court, the judge gave $1.26 billion default judgement. According to Pepsi lawyers, they were not properly served because the secretary was 'so busy preparing for a board meeting.' One might imagine she was working on the refreshments. Perhaps Pepsi should learn more about the Spamhaus case."
Someone who is a lawyer correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a terrible argument. I mean, if the secretary is an agent of the company who is authorized to receive communications on the company's behalf, then wouldn't service to a secretary be good enough?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").