Manufacturing and Retail

Our lawyers have extensive experience in the manufacturing and retail industries including acting in:

• product liability and consumer law claims including:
  • acting for manufacturers and distributors in asbestos claims at first instance and on appeal;
  • acting for a Taiwanese manufacturer of a therapeutic device in a cross-claim by the Australian distributor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales where it was alleged that defects in the labelling of the device resulted in serious injury to a child; and
  • advising clients and negotiating the terms of product safety recalls with regulators,
• intellectual property disputes such as acting for a leading international surfing brand in intellectual property proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia;
• providing advice to the franchisees of an international quick service restaurant in class action proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia;
• competition law matters such as:
  • preparing compliance reports pursuant to a section 87B undertaking to the ACCC for a leading international hearing aid manufacturer;
  • providing competition advice to a Japanese manufacturer in relation to a proposed international merger;
  • acting for a global soft drink manufacturer and distributor in relation to anti-competitive agreements;
  • acting for an American car component manufacturer in connection with a proposed takeover of the only other relevant car component manufacturer in Australia including in appeals to the Federal Court and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal;
  • acting for a computer importer and manufacturer alleged to have engaged in resale price maintenance;
  • acting for parties obtaining clearance from the ACCC for mergers and acquisitions;
  • providing an independent expert report to the ACCC for a major grocery retailer in relation to compliance with competition laws, for use in Federal Court of Australia proceedings;
  • acting for a concrete manufacturer in a dispute with 145 of its lorry owner drivers. The claim involved allegations the lorry owner drivers had engaged in restrictive trade practices. The lorry owner drivers had a claim against the manufacturer for misleading and deceptive conduct and a claim based on promissory estoppel;
  • acting for a respondent in Federal Court proceedings commenced by the ACCC alleging price fixing and market sharing in the copy paper market;
  • acting for a large computer manufacturer in connection with allegations that its staff had engaged in resale price maintenance; and
  • acting for a large grocery wholesaler in proceedings which involved allegations that its proposed takeover of another large grocery wholesaler would substantially lessen competition in that market.