A federal court jury declared Thursday that Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. should be awarded $27.8 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against Kenosha tool-maker Snap-on Inc.

The case, filed three years ago in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, involved three Milwaukee Tool patents for battery packs used in hand-held cordless power tools.

A Snap-on spokesman said Thursday evening that the company would appeal the ruling.

"We strongly disagree with the jury’s verdict and plan to vigorously appeal," Snap-on's Rick Secor said in an emailed statement. "As this legal matter is ongoing, we have no further comment at this time."

In the lawsuit, Milwaukee Tool, of Brookfield, said its lithium-ion battery packs revolutionized the industry after the technology was introduced in 2005, replacing packs using nickel-cadmium batteries. Milwaukee Tool asserted in its lawsuit that "no other technology could offer the combination of high power, light weight and compact size made possible by Milwaukee Tool's inventions."

The lawsuit contends Snap-on infringed on Milwaukee Tool's patents when the Kenosha company made lithium-ion battery packs for Snap-on tools.

The jury hearing the case concluded that it was more likely than not that Snap-on's lithium-ion battery packs infringe on Milwaukee Tool's patents.

The jury set $27.8 million as the "reasonable royalty" to which Milwaukee Tool is entitled.

In an emailed statement Friday afternoon, Milwaukee Tool spokeswoman Heather Markovich said, "Yesterday’s jury verdict by the federal court affirms Milwaukee Tool’s leadership in new-to-world technology in cordless tools for the trades."

"Milwaukee Tool will always be committed to delivering innovation that improves productivity for the professional trades," she stated. "This obsession is a part of our company DNA. The introduction of lithium-Ion technology to the professional power tool industry was groundbreaking and resulted in multiple patents for our company that we continue to aggressively defend."