Hewlett Packard Enterprise will continue to pursue civil fraud damages of up to $4 billion from the estate of Mike Lynch, the British software mogul who died last month when his yacht sank.
The damages, which are tied to a nine-year-old lawsuit filed in Britain, represent the last legal fight that Mr. Lynch faced related to the $11 billion sale of his software company, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He was acquitted in June of criminal charges in the United States over the deal.
Soon after buying Autonomy, Hewlett-Packard accused Autonomy senior executives of lying about the state of the business. It also wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8 billion. A period of turmoil followed, with executive turnover and, eventually, a breakup of the company, into the services-focused Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the hardware specialist HP Inc.
In 2015, the company sued Mr. Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, in London, seeking 5 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) in damages. Both men denied the allegations, and the two sides fought in court for years, in what the presiding judge, Robert Hildyard, called “amongst the longest and most complex in English legal history.”
In 2022, Judge Hildyard ruled largely in the company’s favor. In February, lawyers for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Mr. Lynch argued in court about the amount of the damages. Mr. Lynch had planned to appeal the case.
Judge Hildyard, who has said he expected the damages to be “substantially” less than what HP had sought, is expected to issue a ruling in the coming months.
“The judge’s decision regarding damages due to HPE will arrive in due course,” Hewlett Packard Enterprise said Monday in a statement. “It is HPE’s intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion.”
Salamander Davoudi, a spokeswoman for the Lynch family, declined to comment.
Mr. Lynch and six others — including his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; one of his longtime lawyers, Christopher J. Morvillo; and the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas — died on Aug. 19 when his family yacht capsized in bad weather off the coast of Sicily. The software executive had invited friends and associates on the boating trip to celebrate his acquittal.
Fifteen passengers and crew survived, including Mr. Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares.
Investigations into the yacht’s sinking are ongoing, with the captain, James Cutfield, facing a manslaughter inquiry over his actions.
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