A Baltimore-based inventor of hybrid engine technology and the Abell Foundation, which invested in the company, have won a $28.9 million jury award in a patent infringement case against Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp.
The automakers knowingly used technology developed by Paice, a firm that designed a way to improve the performance of combined gas-electric engines, a jury ruled Thursday after an eight-day trial in federal court in Baltimore.
Paice, founded in 1992 by Russian native Alexander Severinsky, had built a prototype hybrid-powered car but was turned away by major automakers, in some cases after years of discussions.