Hewlett Packard said it will not drop its lawsuit against the family of late tech mogul Mike Lynch.
The news comes days after Lynch tragically died in a yacht sinking off the coast of Sicily. Lynch, along with seven others including his daughter and his main lawyer, drowned when his superyacht ‘Bayesian’ sank.
Before his death, Lynch was embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). HPE had bought his company Autonomy in 2011 and later accused Lynch of inaccurately valuing it.
An HPE spokesman said Monday that the technology company will continue with the lawsuit, which could be as high as $4 billion, and is now in its 13th year.
Angela Bacares, Lynch’s wife who survived the yacht tragedy, is now set to inherit her late husband’s fight with HPE, Fortune reported.
“In 2022, an English High Court judge ruled that HPE was substantially successful in its civil fraud claims against Dr. Lynch and Mr. Hussain,” the spokesperson said in a statement Monday to The Associated Press.
“A hearing on damages was held in February 2024 and the judge’s decision on damages owed to HPE will be forthcoming in due course,” they added to the outlet. “HPE intends to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion.”
Monday’s statement comes after the group initially sent a statement to several media outlets declining to comment on legal matters in light of the tragedy.
“We do not believe it is appropriate to comment on legal matters under these tragic circumstances,” the spokesperson said, according to Fortune. “We are saddened by this tragic event and our thoughts are with the families and friends of all the victims.”
The yacht tragedy came just weeks before Lynch and his former vice president of finance, Stephen Chamberlain, were acquitted of all charges by a San Francisco jury in June.
The indictment accuses Lynch and Chamberlain of falsifying financial records, lying to auditors and regulators and suppressing people who criticized Autonomy’s financial practices.
An HP representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside of normal business hours.
businessinsider
