Fisker asking court for arbitration in Tesla lawsuit

In a legal suit in the U.S., arbitration is a way to step outside the confines of the court and have the two parties settle their differences by a binding agreement. It is a common step in commercial disputes and is what Fisker Automotive asked a California court for on Tuesday, according to Autoweek. Fisker is dealing with a lawsuit from Tesla Motors over the design of the WhiteStar. According to court papers looked at by Autoweek, there is a hearing scheduled for June 11.

The lawsuit, which Fisker is saying will not delay the introduction of the all-electric Karma plug-in hybrid, revolves around the design of Tesla's upcoming WhiteStar sedan and related issues. Fisker denies any wrongdoing and Henrik Fisker, said, "It's simply a ridiculous suit." Tesla's Darryl Siry had no comment to Autoweek but said, "Our suit is laid out pretty clear." UPDATE: whoops, the Karma is a PHEV, not all electric. Thanks to tankd0g.

[Source: Greg Migliore / Autoweek]