Legal Matters |
6 Months Ended |
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Mar. 31, 2026 | |
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| Legal Matters | Legal Matters 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 Defend Trade Secrets Act (the "DTSA") and the California Uniform Trade Secrets Act (the "CUTSA"), breach of contract and unfair business practices. Tesla initiated that arbitration on November 8, 2024. On February 13, 2026, the arbitrator entered an interim decision addressing liability on certain of Tesla’s claims, finding Tesla had established liability on only a limited subset of its claims. The amount of potential damages, if any, will be determined in future phases of the arbitration. The interim decision provided additional clarity regarding the Company’s ongoing dispute with Tesla and clarified the Company’s ownership of and rights in certain dry battery electrode (“DBE”) technology that the Company has been developing over the past two decades. The interim decision includes a narrow injunction preventing the Company from using certain parts in DBE machines. The Company already has approved replacement parts, and thus the injunction has not materially impeded its operations or sales. Tesla has moved to confirm the injunction before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The Company has opposed Tesla’s petition to confirm the injunction as premature and has in the alternative cross-moved for an order partially vacating the injunction. Additional phases of the arbitration remain pending.
In addition, on February 13, 2025, Tesla filed a separate 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, this case has also been compelled to confidential arbitration by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Tesla filed a confidential arbitration demand on February 10, 2026, which included the above-referenced claims as well as claims for trade secret misappropriation. The Company maintains the claims are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself against the allegations as the confidential arbitration proceeds.
Note 18. Legal Matters (continued)
The Company is also defending an additional separate confidential arbitration demand, initiated by Tesla on September 8, 2025, which alleges claims for breach of express warranty, design defects in manufacturing, declaratory relief, and breach of contract. The arbitration demand seeks declaratory relief and actual damages, plus interest and costs. An estimate of the possible loss or range of loss related to the foregoing matters cannot be made at this time given the continued lack of specificity in the pending proceedings and/or the applicable pleadings. In light of the substantial harm caused to the Company by Tesla's actions, the Company is also pursuing counterclaims against Tesla.
On October 1, 2025, Judge Edward Davila, a federal court judge from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, issued an opinion and order granting Matthews’ petition to confirm a prior confidential arbitration award, and rejected Tesla’s motion to vacate that same arbitration award. Tesla has appealed Judge Davila’s ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Finally, in October 2025, the Company finalized a confidential settlement agreement resolving claims of alleged copyright infringement arising from a legacy licensing arrangement within the Company's Memorialization segment. The settlement amount of $8,000, which was accrued and recognized as a component of administrative expense for the period ended September 30, 2025, was paid during the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The Company denies fault or wrongdoing in the matter arising from this licensing dispute.
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