A federal court in New York denied a request by Kraft Foods to stop Starbucks from pulling out of its packaged coffee partnership before an arbitration proceeding is completed.
In an ongoing battle between the two foodservice giants, Kraft filed for a preliminary injunction in December in an attempt to stop Starbucks from moving forward with its plan to move its packaged coffee business in house with a new partner on March 1.
Kraft has argued that Starbucks cannot break the contract without compensation of fair market value for the business, plus a premium.
On Friday, however, Kraft’s request for a preliminary injunction was denied by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Kraft officials said in a statement they intend to appeal the ruling.
The ruling does not impact the ongoing arbitration proceeding, which Kraft estimated would take several months.
In reporting record first-quarter earnings last week, Starbucks officials said they were confident the break up would proceed as planned by the March deadline.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
