Halliburton Loses Bid to Overturn Verdict

Halliburton Co. lost a U.S. Supreme Court appeal of a $98.1-million jury award it was ordered to pay rival BJ Services Co. in a patent dispute.

BJ Services claimed Houston-based Halliburton infringed a patent for a method of hydraulic fracturing that pumps liquid into the ground at high pressure to break open underground formations so more oil can be extracted. The high court refused to hear Halliburton’s argument that one issue in the April 2002 trial should have been decided by the judge, not the jury.

Shares of Halliburton fell 64 cents to $29.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.