Prairie Land Millwright Services Inc. owed to Sioux Steel Co. $11.8 million for infringing an agricultural equipment patent, a federal jury in Illinois ruled.
Sioux Steel—a fourth-generation, family-owned manufacturer of grain systems and other products based in Sioux Falls, SD—sued Mendota, Ill.-based Prairie Land. in February 2016.
It accused Prairie Land’s Bin Gator products — paddle sweepers that can rotate along their length — of infringing its patent.
Jurors found the violation to be intentional, according to a brief filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, giving the court the option to increase the award by three …
