Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: QUEENSTOWN, MD. LENGTH: Medium
Robert W. Kearns reads his Bible daily. The Eighth Commandment, in particular, has consumed him for nearly two decades: Thou shalt not steal.
That's what he believes automakers worldwide have done to him - stolen his design for intermittent windshield wipers and made hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled Kearns can collect about $21 million from Chrysler in a patent-infringement lawsuit.
But Kearns, who filed similar lawsuits against other carmakers and won a $10.2 million settlement from Ford, said he's still going to be $1 million in the hole even with the Chrysler award.
He expects the court to give his former attorneys about $11 million and says he's spent about $11 million in legal expenses since he invented intermittent wipers in 1963.
Kearns received several patents in 1967 for the wipers, which pause between sweeps across the windshield. Virtually all cars sold worldwide now feature intermittent wipers, which are useful in light rain or mist.
Kearns lives in a cluttered 1859 two-story farmhouse he bought 18 months ago with part of the Ford settlement. The house sits on 16 acres along a peaceful cove on the Wye River.
Boxes of court documents litter every corner of his house. In the upstairs hallway are oversized working models of his patents.
``It's three parts and a motor. Each part does about three things. It's elegant!'' Kearns said, beaming.
A bare Christmas tree stretches to the ceiling in the living room, its dry needles scattered on the hardwood floor. Twenty-four file cabinets run the length of his sun porch.
In Kearns' messy bedroom, a partially deflated air mattress is surrounded by packing boxes that hold his clothes.
``I don't really want to live this way,'' he said, as he picked his way around stacks of papers on the floor. ``My mother was very meticulous. But you don't understand what it's like to be in litigation.''
The lawsuits have consumed him. His wife left him. He was once committed to a psychiatric hospital.
Still, Kearns is contemplating whether to continue lawsuits against foreign automakers. A court dismissed his suit against General Motors.
Kearns began representing himself during the Chrysler case after several disagreements with his lawyers over money and other things. For the most part, he's learned the legal craft on the job.
``How much do you think you'd know about the law if you had paid $11 million in fees?'' he asked.
by CNB