A class action has lost its appeal to the High Court in a case alleging Advanta Seeds owed damages to farmers for the economic loss resulting from its negligence in producing contaminated grain sorghum seed, with the justices clarifying that a duty of care may be established only if responsibility is assumed.
The High Court is scheduled to hand down a judgment in a class action on Wednesday on the power of a product disclaimer to protect manufacturers from claims they owe a duty of care to protect purchasers from pure economic loss.
The High Court has granted special leave to farmers in a class action against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated product to challenge a court’s finding that a disclaimer nullified the company’s duty to protect growers against economic loss.
The farmers leading a class action against Advanta Seeds over contaminated product have brought their case to the High Court, challenging an appeals court’s holding that a disclaimer nullified the company’s duty to protect growers against economic loss.
Advanta Seeds has won an appeal upholding the dismissal of a class action by sorghum farmers over allegedly contaminated seeds, with a court finding that the seed producer’s duty of care was negated by clear disclaimers.
Plaintiffs in a class action against Advanta Seeds rejected a $10 million offer to settle the litigation, which was later dismissed by a judge.
Advanta Seeds has defeated a class action brought over contaminated seeds, with a court finding the Australian seed supplier did not owe a duty of care to irate farmers who allegedly suffered loss and damage from the decreased value of their sorghum crops sowed in the 2010/2011 summer season.
The plaintiffs in a farming class action brought against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated sorghum have been denied access to the defendant’s insurance policy documents, after a judge found “significant differences” with a recently successful application in a class action against Radio Rentals.