Carolina Beverage Corp. v. Fiji Water Co., LLC

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Facts

A. The parties and their distribution agreement FIJI Water Company, LLC (FIJI), manufacturers premium bottled water from a source on the island of Viti Levu in the South Pacific. It is one of the top manufacturers of premium water in the United States. Prior to 2018, FIJI distributed its products to retailers chiefly through third-party distributors. Those distributors would act as intermediaries between FIJI and the retailers within specific geographic territories, and provided retailers support and services (such as checking inventory and monitoring displays of the product in the retailers’ stores) in exchange for a slightly higher product price. However, some retailers declined to work with third-party distributors and instead purchased FIJI’s product directly from FIJI.

3 On January 2, 2009, FIJI entered into a five-year distribution agreement with Carolina Beverage Corporation (Carolina Beverage),1 a well-established beverage distributor in business since 1913, for distribution of its products in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.2 In pertinent part, the agreement: ● Granted Carolina Beverage “the…