Sam shared this interesting historical article from Hemmings. As Daniel Stroll notes, it seems odd that the inventor, Albert-Paul Bucciali, chose to sue Willys-Overland rather than Spicer. Moreover, my argument would be that it was the transferase, and not the front pinion, that was the unique key to what became the jeep, so his lawsuit was misguided no matter who he sued.
One of the vehicles Albert-Paul constructed: The Buccali TAV8-32 …
Auburn -Cord had a front wheel drive in 31′ The L29