close
MENU
1 mins to read

Comvita slams ‘misleading’ reports on court case

Natural health products company Comvita is up in arms over media reports on a recent High Court ruling, claiming they are potentially misleading and damaging.On June 4 High Court Justice Rhys Harrison issued a judgment on a long-running commercial dispute

NBR staff
Fri, 11 Jun 2010

Natural health products company Comvita is up in arms over media reports on a recent High Court ruling, claiming they are potentially misleading and damaging.

On June 4 High Court Justice Rhys Harrison issued a judgment on a long-running commercial dispute between Comvita and WaikatoLink, the commercialisation arm of Waikato University.

The dispute was over an intellectual property agreement regarding the active compound in Manuka honey that gives it its special non-peroxide antibacterial properties.

However, when WaikatoLink was beaten to the discovery of the molecule by a foreign university the deal went sour with Comvita claiming WaikatoLink had misrepresented its position.

At that stage Comvita had paid $1.5 million of the agreed price of $3.5 million but it refused to pay the balance of $2 million.

WaikatoLink claimed judgment for that amount while Comvita counterclaimed to recover its part-payment of $1.5 million and a declaration discharging its liability to pay the balance.

Justice Harrison ruled that WaikatoLink’s conduct had been misleading and awarded Comvita $1 million in compensation for damages while ordering Comvita to pay WaikatoLink the remaining $1 million.

Comvita chief executive Brett Hewlett said, “We are concerned that readers may be left with a false impression of the outcome of the High Court ruling of June 4, and may also have inferred a larger liability for Comvita than is actually the case.

“It is important that our shareholders and other key stakeholders understand the facts.”

He said that during the March 2008 financial year Comvita had made a provision for payment of $2 million, the balance of the $3.5 million contract.

Unless the judgment is appealed Comvita will now release half of that provision, which will increase Comvita’s net earnings before tax by approximately $1 million in the current financial year.

NBR staff
Fri, 11 Jun 2010
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Comvita slams ‘misleading’ reports on court case
5849
false