US judge says Danone should sue Wahaha in China

A US judge has told Groupe Danone SA, the French company fighting its former Chinese partner Hangzhou Wahaha Group for control of the $2.4 billion Wahaha beverage brand, to pursue its claims in China’s courts, Bloomberg reported. California Superior Court Judge Carl J. West said California has no jurisdiction in the case against Ever Maple Trading and Hangzhou Hongsheng Beverage, which are legally represented by the wife and daughter of Wahaha Chairman Zong Qinghou. However, he declined to dismiss the claims, requiring both sides to report every six months on the status of the case in China. He reserved the right to let the claims against the two individuals proceed in California if China proves to be an "unsuitable forum." Danone, the world’s biggest yogurt maker, has yet to win a case in any of the 30 lawsuits it filed in at least seven countries to gain control of the Wahaha brand.