Marvell Dives 10% After Jury Orders $1.17B Penalty in Patent Case

Marvell Technologies (NASDAQ:MRVL) plunged 10% to levels unseen since the depths of the financial crisis on Wednesday after being slapped with a $1.17 billion penalty following a patent battle with Carnegie Mellon University.

The double-digit selloff is the latest in a series of steep declines for Marvell, leaving its shares down almost 47% year-to-date.

The selling began Wednesday afternoon after a jury ruled against Marvell in a patent infringement case that was unleashed by Carnegie Mellon University.

A federal jury agreed with the school’s claims that Marvell infringed on patents related to technology aimed at making hard drive circuits more effective at understanding data contained in high-speed magnetic disks.

Marvell now faces a steep fine of $1.17 billion in damages, which would make it one of the largest civil patent penalties in history.

By also finding the infringement was willful, it’s possible the trial judge could triple the damages, published reports said.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Marvell didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict.

Wall Street punished the company’s shares, sending them tumbling as low as $7.19 during intraday trading before closing at $7.40, down 10.30% on the day. That marks Marvell’s lowest close since March 2009 just as the markets bottomed after the Great Recession.

Marvell’s shares dropped another 1.08% to $7.32 in after-hours action.

Earlier this year disappointing earnings and guidance from Marvell triggered double-digit declines for Marvell’s stock.