Fish & Richardson Wins $28.9 Million Jury Verdict for Paice LLC and The Abell Foundation Against Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp.

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - Oct 5, 2015) - Fish & Richardson announced today that it won a $28.9 million jury verdict for its clients Paice LLC and The Abell Foundation in a patent infringement case against Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. Paice and Abell sued Hyundai and Kia in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for infringing five hybrid vehicle technology patents. The cars at issue in the case include the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Kia Optima Hybrid.

The trial began on September 21, 2015 before U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis. On October 1, 2015, the jury returned a verdict for Paice and Abell, finding all of the patent claims valid and willfully infringed by Hyundai and Kia. Because of the finding of willfulness, the trial judge could treble the damages award.

Paice is a pioneer in hybrid electric vehicle technology. The Abell Foundation is a Baltimore-based charitable organization that, in addition to its other works, invests in early stage companies that offer significant social and economic benefits. The patented technology enables hybrid vehicles to run more efficiently, and with lower emissions, without diminishing their performance. 

Fish has served as lead counsel for Paice since 2004, when the company sued Toyota Motor Corp. in E.D. Texas. Fish won a jury verdict of patent infringement against Toyota in 2005. Paice's dispute with Toyota has ultimately spanned three federal district court cases, two Federal Circuit appeals, and an ITC investigation. In 2010, on the eve of the ITC trial, Paice reached a confidential settlement with Toyota. As a part of the settlement resolving the global dispute, Paice licensed its entire patent portfolio to Toyota. Fish also represents Paice in its ongoing litigation with the Ford Motor Company. Ford agreed to take a license to one of Paice's patents in July 2010. In February 2014, Fish filed a patent infringement suit for Paice and Abell against Ford that is currently stayed after Ford's filing of numerous IPRs.

The Paice trial team was led by Fish principals Ahmed J. Davis, Ruffin B. Cordell, Linda Liu Kordziel, and John S. Goetz. "Our clients are true innovators, and this case has proven yet again that their technology has revolutionized the auto industry," said Ahmed J. Davis. "It is gratifying to have a jury recognize and reward them for creating this breakthrough technology."

The patents-at-issue are U.S. Patent Numbers 6,209,672; 7,104,347; 7,237,634; 7,559,388; and 8,214,097.

Fish & Richardson is a global patent, intellectual property (IP) litigation, and commercial litigation law firm with more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists across the U.S. and Europe. Fish has been named the #1 patent litigation firm in the U.S. for 11 consecutive years. Fish has been winning cases worth billions in controversy -- often by making new law -- for the most innovative clients and influential industry leaders since 1878. For more information, visit www.fr.com.