history

In late 1914, Lion Tractor Company was organized at Minneapolis, Minnesota. The plans were to build a lightweight tractor that would sell at a low price. Diamond Iron Works of Minneapolis was contracted to build the machine. D. M. Hartsough designed the Lion tractor. Hartsough had also designed the Bull tractor. In a 1914 lawsuit, Bull Tractor Company asked for $100,000 in damages from Lion Tractor Company, Diamond Iron Works, and Mr. Hartsough. Bull claimed that Hartsough was to design an improved version of the Bull tractor. After doing so, Bull complained that Hartsough sold the patents to the Lion Tractor Company. An injunction was granted to Bull Tractor Company on February 26, 1915, restraining Lion from building any more tractors of that design. Lion went ahead building tractors anyway, and on May 15, 1915, the U. S. District Court fined Lion Tractor Company $350 for contempt of court. Lion then got a suspending order from a different judge, Finally, in 1916, Lion announced a settlement of all litigation with the Bull Tractor Company. By 1918, The Lion tractor had vanished from the market.