Things are looking a little brighter for battery startup Envia Systems, as three of the company’s former executives dropped a lawsuit with little explanation. The suit, which was filed last November, alleged that co-founder and CTO Sujeet Kumar created the company using intellectual property that he stole from his previous employer, a nanotech startup called NanoeXa.

“For a number of reasons: personal, professional, and case-related – we have decided to dismiss the case without prejudice and suspend pursuit of our claims,” Envia’s former CEO Atul Kapadia told SiliconBeat. “Without prejudice means we retain the option of re-filing at a later date.  This was not a court ruling.  It is being done at our behest.”

Envia scored a $4 million ARPA-E grant for battery development in 2009, and signed a licensing agreement with GM in 2012. That deal was later cancelled amid doubts about the commercial viability of Envia’s battery technology.

“Envia Systems is pleased that the lawsuit has been dismissed,” said Envia in a January statement. “Envia is considering its options to address the fact that the baseless lawsuit was filed at all. The company’s own investigations and other data confirmed that the lawsuit was meritless, and the plaintiffs and their lawyers have now essentially agreed – by themselves dropping the suit less than two months after it was filed.”

The company is moving forward with development of its cathode and anode materials, said Dr. Purnesh Seegopaul, a general partner at Pangaea Ventures, who is acting as interim CEO.

Source: SiliconBeat