Amphibious boat manufacturer Sealegs International has been hit with a $6.8 million damages claim after losing long-running legal action against rival companies.
The claim was filed to the High Court on December 21, 2020 by engineering company Orion Marine and boatbuilder Smuggler Marine, as well as their respective directors.
The damages claim follows Sealegs’ 2016 legal action for alleged copyright infringement against Orion and Smuggler, as well as other defendants, over an amphibious system designed by Orion and installed on Smuggler vessels.
Sealegs won an interim injunction in December 2016, preventing its rivals from producing or marketing their system pending a High Court hearing, which Sealegs won in 2018, but the decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2019. Sealegs’ subsequent application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was turned down.
Orion and Smuggler were blocked from the amphibious boat business for two and a half years by the prolonged legal process.
The corporate plaintiffs are seeking damages for loss of profit, reputational damage from media reports and public statements by Sealegs and FMS, loss of staff and know-how, inability to invest, market exclusion, and damage to supplier relationships.
The individual plaintiffs – Leybourne, Orion engineer Vladan Zubcic, and Smuggler directors David and Pauline Pringle – are also seeking compensation of $75,000-$80,000 each for reputational damage and emotional distress.
Orion’s claim totals $5m while Smuggler’s totals $1.5m.
Sealegs did not respond to offers to settle out of court, according to Orion Marine Director Darren Leybourne, who was confident the court would order a significant level of damages. If Sealegs failed to pay, “we will force them into bankruptcy,” he said.
Further claims for damages totalling about $2.9m are expected to be made by other successful parties in the original litigation – Orion director Yun Zhang and Stryda Marine.
