Fisker Says He and His Companies Exonerated in Tesla's Trade Secrets Lawsuit

Fisker Says He and His Companies Exonerated in Tesla's Trade Secrets Lawsuit

Acclaimed car designer Henrik Fisker (right) said Sunday that a private arbiter has dismissed electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors Co.'s claim that Fisker, his partner and his companies stole its technology and tried to sabotage its development program.

Tesla earlier this year sued the designer and his business partner, Bernhard Koehler, and the companies Fisker Coachbuild and Fisker Automotive over alleged theft of trade secrets.

The arbitrator's ruling, according to a statement issued by Fisker,  called Tesla's suit "baseless" and said it was not filed in good faith.
 
The case was not being heard in a regular court but had been sent to arbitration under a contractual agreement that called for any disputes to be resolved via the private hearing process.

Tesla, based in Northern California near Stanford University, is the manufacturer of the battery-electric Tesla Roadster and had hired Henrik Fisker, former head designer in the U.S. for BMW and Aston Martin, to help it with a second vehicle, an electric sedan code-named the Model S.

After parting company with Tesla late last year, Fisker -- whose Fisker Coachbuild specializes in redesigning and fabricating reskinned versions of mass-market luxury performance cars for well-to-do clients -- announced that he was preparing to introduce an all-new plug-in electric hybrid sedan.

The car, called the Fisker Karma, (above) was first shown at the Detroit auto show in January.

Henrik Fisker said at the time that a new company, Fisker Automotive, had been formed to build the Karma. He said the car, priced at about $80,000, would go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Tesla sued three months later, claiming that Fisker had used his association with Tesla to access some of the company's technology and had deliberately performed substandard design work on the Model S in order to slow down the project and improve his own plug-in hybrid's chances.

Fisker, Koehler and the two companies had denied any wrongdoing.

The arbitrator's initial ruling in the case -- issued Friday -- is that "the evidence is overwhelming that Fisker did nothing wrong," Fisker spokeswoman Sylvia Navarro said in a release e-mailed on Sunday and embargoed until this morning.

She said the arbitrator's ruling specifically stated that "Tesla's assertion of violations of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act by Fisker were baseless and neither brought nor pursued in good faith."

The announcement also quotes Fisker and the law firm representing Fisker in the case, both claiming that the arbitrator's ruling dismisses Tesla's case.

Because Fisker distributed the announcement over the weekend and under an embargo, neither Tesla nor Fisker's law firm could be reached for comment. Fisker said in a brief phone interview Sunday that he'd approved the press release.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.