Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. Coca-Cola Co.
United States District Court for the District of Delaware
110 F.R.D. 363 (1986)
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (Bottlers) (plaintiffs) sued Coca-Cola Co. (defendant) over whether diet Coke fell within existing syrup supply contracts, and the court ordered Coca-Cola to disclose its confidential soft-drink formulae under a protective order to resolve the dispute; Coca-Cola refused, citing the overriding commercial importance of the formula's secrecy, and requested a sanctions hearing instead. The Bottlers sought the harshest available sanction — striking Coca-Cola's answer and entering default judgment — while Coca-Cola proposed a more limited preclusion order.
Whether, under FRCP Rule 37(b), entry of a default judgment is always appropriate against a party that willfully refuses to comply with a discovery order.