No to Danone

GROUPE Danone SA, the French company fighting its former Chinese partner Hangzhou Wahaha Group for control of the US$2.4-billion Wahaha beverage brand, should pursue its claims in China's courts, a United States judge has said.

California has no jurisdiction in a case over Ever Maple Trading Ltd and Hangzhou Hongsheng Beverage Co, sued by Danone for producing and selling Wahaha beverages outside their venture, the state's Superior Court Judge Carl J. West said in a ruling.