A California jury has ordered Roanoke-based Luna Innovations Inc. to pay $36.3 million in a breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets dispute that began two years ago.

The verdict in the four-week trial with Hansen Medical Inc., held in Santa Clara, concluded Tuesday with the afternoon verdict that went nearly entirely in Hansen's favor.

Luna, which employs about 210 people, previously said in court documents that a verdict nearing $50 million could put them out of business.

"In our industry, confidential technical information is our lifeblood, and we strive to preserve the integrity of that information, whether it's ours or someone else's," Kent Murphy, chairman and CEO of Luna, said in an e-mailed statement. "We are very disappointed with the results of this case and we stand by the belief that in this situation we conducted proper business. We are currently evaluating the outcome and we are filing post-trial motions."

The jury ordered Luna to pay $26 million in lost profits, $10.2 million for unjust enrichment and $95,815 in damages, according to Hansen's attorney. A copy of the verdict should be posted on the court's Web site this week, but was not available Tuesday.

Hansen, headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., also will have the ability to collect legal fees, said Arturo Gonzalez, one of the lead attorneys for the company.

"That will be substantial," Gonzalez said. "It will be in the multiple millions."

Hansen had argued that Luna committed fraud, but the jury didn't find that to be true.

"I'm OK with that," Gonzalez said. "The jury foreman told me the jury thought Luna was sincere about doing the deal with Hansen."

The case stems from a 2006 deal between Luna and Hansen to work together to apply Luna's fiber-optic shape-sensing technology to Hansen's catheter medical device.

The jury found that Luna not only breached a contract it signed with Hansen to develop technology for a medical device, but that the company also shared Hansen's trade secrets with Intuitive Surgical Inc., one of the largest medical device companies in the country. The 2007 deal with Intuitive was for the supply and development of a navigational aid to be built into future generations of high-tech robotic devices for complex, minimally invasive operations.

In finding in Hansen's favor, the jury said that any intellectual property Luna developed during the work with Hansen belongs to Hansen. Because Luna shared some of that knowledge in its work with Intuitive, Gonzalez said that Hansen will now have to talk to Intuitive or get a court-ordered injunction to prevent Intuitive from using the technology.

"The jury's verdict is significant because what was at stake was the future of medical robotics and Hansen is now in a much better position to take a leadership position in that market," Gonzalez said.

The jury took about two days to reach the verdict after beginning deliberations Thursday afternoon. The court was closed Friday.

Luna, which has yet to post a profit, reported revenues of $36.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2008 in its latest available financial statement. The company posted a net loss of $2.16 million for the quarter and $6.3 million for the year.

A central company to Roanoke's efforts to spur biotechnology development in the region, Luna has a close relationship with Carilion Clinic. Carilion, which owns 20.8 percent of Luna's outstanding shares and is a major creditor, helped the city to entice Luna to move from Blacksburg.

Carilion CEO Dr. Ed Murphy was not available for comment late Tuesday.

"We support Luna, they are a good company, and Luna has been good for the Roanoke Valley and region," said Carilion spokesman Eric Earnhart. "At this point we really don't know enough about the court verdict and its potential impact to comment on what that might do."

Earnhart said he didn't think there was any concern that the verdict could adversely affect Carilion's financials.

"Obviously we are concerned about Luna, but we hope they can continue to grow and thrive," he said.