- “THE SMARTPHONE PATENT WARS” – APPLE v. SAMSUNG
VALUATION: $539 million
The patent battle started in 2011 when Apple alleged Samsung of “slavishly” copying the iPhone design. The case reached to US Supreme court, and Samsung challenged the lower court’s ruling that Samsung should pay 100% of the profits earned from its smartphone business- close to $399 Million. However, Supreme Court rejected the ruling and returned the case to lower courts saying that paying all profits was wrong, as the infringed patents are only a small part of the devices and not the full devices.US jury finally ordered Samsung to pay Apple $539 million in lieu of the damages for “copying features of the original iPhone”. Samsung paid that amount after both companies agreed in to drop litigation outside of the US.
- TOBACCO MASTER SETTLEMENT
VALUATION: $206 million
The Tobacco master settlement is the largest settlement in history. This master settlement originally took place between the four largest tobacco companies (Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard) and the attorneys general of 46 states and 5 territories. It settled the state lawsuits that sought billions of dollars in costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. Tobacco advertising that targets people younger than age 18 was prohibited. Cartoons in cigarette advertising were eliminated. Outdoor, billboard and public transit advertising of cigarettes was eliminated. Cigarette brand names could no longer be used on merchandise.
- JP MORGAN
VALUATION: $13 billion
In November 2013, JPMorgan was the first major financial institution to settle with the government over its role in triggering the 2008 financial sector crisis. The amount included $4 billion in consumer relief. It is a case of money laundering. This blemished JP Morgan Chase’s reputation as an organization and caused its credibility as a financial institution to diminish significantly. That is why this bank was sanctioned with a fine of USD 13,000 million dollars for engaging in bad practices.
- THE MURDER OF DE LA HAYE
VALUATION: 12000 hectares of land
It was the most scandalous murder case of pre-independent India. There was revenge, pride, and some even speculate love was the reason for the murder. The murder case involved two of the wealthiest princely states in India and ended with one of the kings losing 12,000 hectares of land. The British Indian government established the Newington House College in Madras, modern-day Chennai. De La Haye, an esteemed scholar, ran the institution and was strict with the boys. On 15 October 1919, the entire hostel woke to the sound of a rifle and the scream of Ms. De Hayle. Someone killed De Hayle by firing at a point-blank range. Police took over the investigation and found two rifles in the hostel. They narrowed down the prince of Kadambur and the prince of Singamapatti. The doubt fell on Singampatti, who took the case to a special privy council in London and won it. The ruler of Singampatti had to sell his 12000-hectare Manjolai tea estate to the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation to cover the case’s expense.
- JOHNSON AND JOHNSON
VALUATION: $2.2 billion
Johnson & Johnson paid a $485m as a criminal fine and forfeiture and $1.72bn as civil settlements to settle various misconduct charges filed in 2013.The company was found guilty of off-label marketing of prescription drugs, including anti-psychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega and heart failure drug Natrecor. It was charged with offering payments to healthcare providers for their unlawful marketing targeting elderly patients with dementia.The company paid millions of dollars to Omnicare, the largest pharmacy in the US, for promoting Risperdal and other drugs in their nursing homes. J&J was found guilty of understating the serious health risks related to Risperdal usage, including increased risk of strokes in elderly patients.
- THE BP OIL SPILL
VALUATION: $18.7 billion
Also called as Deepwater Horizon oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater horizon oil rig—located in the Gulf of Maxico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana —and its subsequent sinking on April 22. The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP. BP paid $18.7 billion to Louisiana, four other states, and the federal government to settle civil lawsuits tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 and triggered the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
- DMITRY RYBOLOVLEV Vs. ELENA RYBOLOVLEV
VALUATION: $4.5 billion
Elena Rybolovlev filed for divorce from Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2008. She said that her husband used to share his young conquests with his friends and had several affairs. The courts initially awarded Elena $4.5 billion in the settlement in 2014, but after an appeal, she walked away with $604 million. The judgment also granted his ex-wife property worth 130.5 million francs ($146 million) in property in Gstaad, Switzerland, where the couple owned two swanky chalets.
- VOLKSWAGEN EMISSIONS SCANDAL
VALUATION: $14.7 billion
German automaker Volkswagen AG rigged US emission tests so it would appear that its diesel-powered cars were emitting fewer nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to ozone build up and respiratory illness. Volkswagen installed software in roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the US since 2008. Volkswagen has admitted that up to 11 million diesel cars worldwide are fitted with defeat devices in the engine management systems on the modern Volkswagen 2.0-liter diesel engine that can switch on pollution controls when they detect the car is undergoing testing. They then switch off the controls when the car is on the road, allowing it to spew out harmful levels of emissions. (40 times higher)
In 2016, a federal judge approved a $14.7 billion settlement resulting from a Volkswagen scheme to cheat emission test on its diesel cars. The settlement provides funds for vehicle buybacks at market values prior to the scandal, plus additional cash payments for 475,000 diesel car owners.
- WILDENSTEIN DIVORCE SETTLEMENT
VALUATION: $3.8 billion
The Wildenstein’s’ divorce in 1999 was not amicable. Alec Wildenstein, a French-American art dealer, and businessman divorced Jocelyn Wildenstein, his wife of 21 years, in 1999, making it the most expensive divorce of that year. Jocelyn Wildenstein is an American socialite known for her extensive cosmetic surgery, resulting in her disturbing appearance. Jocelyn walked in on her husband and a 19-year-old Russian model in her bedroom at the Wildenstein New York home, and he threatened her with a gun. During her divorce, the judge stipulated that she could not use any alimony payments for further cosmetic surgery. The costly divorce proceedings led to Alec Wildenstein paying his wife a hefty $2.5 billion as well as $100 million each year until the next thirteen years, which totaled a sum to $3.8 billion.
- PFIZER
VALUATION: $2.3 billion
Pfizer and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company paid $2.3bn to settle criminal and civil liabilities for illegal promotion of their pharmaceutical products. Bextra, an anti-inflammatory drug that was withdrawn from the market in 2005 due to safety concerns, was marketed by the company for various off-label uses. The company also illegally promoted several other drugs, including antipsychotic drug Geodon, antibiotic Zyvox, and anti-epileptic drug Lyrica. Healthcare providers received payments for prescribing these drugs to patients for off-label use.
YLCC would like to thank Nikita Jain for her valuable insights in this article.
