Boyer Gets Post at Hughes Tool

Dale E. Boyer, a former president of Irvine-based Smith Tool, has been named president of Hughes Tool, the company that vanquished Smith in federal court after a 14-year patent-infringement battle.

Boyer was president of Smith Tool in 1972 when the company decided to sue Hughes for patenting a drilling bit that Smith attorneys believed should not have been patented, according to Loren Carroll, Smith’s chief financial officer.

After 14 years of court battles, a federal judge ruled last year that Smith had infringed upon the Hughes patent and owed Hughes an estimated $205 million in damages. In June, Hughes--which by then had merged with Orange County-based Baker International--agreed to accept $95 million to settle the case on the condition that the money is received before the end of the year.