Food and Beverage

A judge has issued a self-executing order for the dismissal of a patent infringement lawsuit against Monster Energy if the inventor who brought the case fails to pay $350,000 in security for the beverage giant’s costs within two weeks.

The proprietors of a family-owned Adelaide deli selling imported food for the past 50 years have lost a trade mark lawsuit targeting Eddie Muto’s Il Mercato Centrale — the sprawling Italian market expected to open its first Australian location in Collins St, Melbourne this year.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has won its underpayments case against restaurant chain Sushi Bay and its director, with a judge finding the company forced migrant workers to pay back their entitlements in cash in a “calculated and institutional effort” to conceal wrongdoing. 

Noumi has argued a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst is protected by legal professional privilege, after the food manufacturer admitted to overstating the value of its inventory and failing to properly disclose its financial position.

A judge has dismissed a franchisee class action against the Hog’s Breath Cafe restaurant chain after the lead applicants failed to hand over $1.23 million in security for costs.

Australian beverage company Bickfords, which makes ‘Real McCoy’ whiskey mixed drinks, has successfully opposed rival drink maker Frucor Suntory’s bid to trade mark the same name for a fruit juice product, with an IP Australia delegate finding the beverages were similar.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will conduct a one-year inquiry into supermarket pricing and competition amid concerns by consumers.

Vittoria’s Cantarella Bros has lodged an appeal in a long-running trade mark stoush with Italian rival Lavazza after a judge found the coffee manufacturer’s two registered ‘Oro’ marks should be cancelled because the word was previously used by another coffee supplier. 

A judge has approved a 24 per cent group costs order in a consolidated class action against a2 Milk, noting the complexity of the claims against the dairy giant and saying a GCO would align the class action lawyers’ interests with group members’.

Noumi has largely lost its bid to shield from a class action parts of its inhouse counsel’s evidence supporting a privilege claim over 3,000 documents seen by Ashurst and PricewaterhouseCoopers during an investigation into the company’s financial position.