Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
The Company is subject to various legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business. Management does not expect that the results of any of these ordinary course legal proceedings, as presently positioned, will have a material adverse effect on Matthews' financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
In addition to these ordinary course legal proceedings, the Company is involved in the following legal proceedings.
On October 7, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the Company’s motion to compel arbitration in response to a complaint filed by Tesla on June 14, 2024 against the Company in the Northern District of California, Civil Action No. 5:24-cv-03615 (N.D. Cal.), which alleged trade secret misappropriation under the DTSA and the CUTSA, breach of contract and unfair business practices. Given the Court’s favorable ruling, the matter filed by Tesla has been effectively stayed pending arbitration, which Tesla has initiated. The Company maintains the claims vaguely stated in the complaint are without merit and continues to vigorously defend itself against the allegations in the arbitration.
In addition, on February 13, 2025, Tesla filed another additional complaint against the Company in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging, in part, claims related to correction of inventorship, breach of contract, promissory estoppel and quasi-contract/restitution arising from and/or related to various U.S. patents and provisional patents, including but not limited to U.S. Patent No. 12,136,727. Similar to the prior matter, the Company has already filed a motion to compel arbitration and maintains the claims vaguely stated in the complaint filed on February 13, 2025 are also without merit. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself against the allegations.
An estimate of the possible loss or range of loss related to both matters cannot be made at this time given the continued lack of specificity in the applicable pleadings and/or proceedings. In light of the substantial harm caused to the Company by Tesla's actions, the Company is now pursuing counterclaims against Tesla. As of the date of the filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company does not expect these matters will have a material adverse effect on Matthews' financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Sales relating to dry battery electrode solutions were approximately 6% of the Company's sales for fiscal 2024. For a discussion of the risks to the Company associated with this matter, see Part I, Item 1A to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 - "Risk Factors - Intellectual property infringement assertions by third parties, including those of Tesla, could result in significant costs and adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition, operating results and reputation."
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