A federal appeals court has upheld a $75 million default judgment and $160 million in sanctions for contempt against Biolitec A.G. and chief executive officer Wolfgang Neuberger for “severe” misconduct in a contract dispute.

That included violating U.S. District Senior Judge Michael Ponsor's order to stop a merger that moved the German medical-device company's domicile to Austria, where U.S. court judgments are unenforceable. Biolitec also refused to produce people, including Neuberger, for depositions, the court said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued two rulings on Wednesday in companion cases, both captioned AngioDynamics v. Biolitec. The court affirmed Ponsor's April 2013 contempt sanctions, which have since accrued to about $160 million, over Biolitec's violation of his injunction against the merger.