Michael Hill has won an appeal over a legal dispute between the jeweller and an Australian paper bag manufacturer.
According to court documents, packaging manufacturer Gispac had been supplying wholesale packaging supplies to Michael Hill Jeweller (Australia) Pty Ltd from around 2003 to May 2018. The case arose from a dispute in relation to the supply of packaging in the years 2014 to 2018.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of New South Wales ordered Michael Hill to pay $2,259,971.40, plus interest and costs.
The company has now reported that the NSW Court of Appeal has reduced Michael Hill’s liability for damages from $2.2 million (plus interest) to $359,858 (plus interest).
Gispac was also ordered to pay Michael Hill’s costs of the Appeal, however the initial trial costs are subject to further determination by the Court.
The new decision is subject to appeal within 28 days.
In a prior story by Ragtrader, court documents showed that sales agreements were entered into by both Gispac and Michael Hill between 2003 and 2018 for different types of bags, generally described as small or large bags.
By 2014, the arrangement between the parties was that Gispac stored packaging bags for Michael Hill at its Australian and New Zealand warehouses and when Michael Hill required certain types of bags it would “draw down” on the stock of packaging bags held at those warehouses until that stock was depleted.
The issue involved the terms of three sales agreements between Michael Hill and Gispac, including two signed on May 5, 2014, and one on May 8, 2015, with the latter in respect of Emma & Roe - a former Michael Hill subsidiary brand.