A federal judge on Monday denied the Coca-Cola Co.’s motion to disqualify its longtime outside counsel Paul Hastings from representing a startup that has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Coke.

In a 28-page ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Norway of the Middle District of Florida found that Paul Hastings’ representation of the startup was indeed a conflict, but that Coke signed an enforceable conflict waiver when it engaged Paul Hastings to represent it in a human rights matter in April 2021.