HP searching for $1.7bn from Mike Lynch’s property | EUROtoday

Hewlett Packard (HP) is searching for $1.7bn (£1.3bn) from the property of Mike Lynch – who died final 12 months when his yacht sank – over HP’s acquisition of his agency Autonomy, the tech large’s legal professionals have informed the High Court.

HP, now referred to as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), purchased Mr Lynch’s tech agency Autonomy in 2011, nevertheless it says Mr Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief monetary officer, Sushovan Hussain, misrepresented the corporate’s funds.

In a 2019 trial, HPE had accused Mr Lynch of inflating Autonomy’s revenues which it mentioned compelled it to announce an $8.8bn write-down of the corporate’s value.

Mr Justice Hildyard dominated in 2022 that HPE had “substantially succeeded” in its declare, however that it was more likely to obtain “substantially less” than the $5bn it sought in damages.

Earlier this 12 months, he dominated that HPE suffered losses amounting to round £700m via the acquisition of Autonomy.

Mr Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah have been amongst seven passengers and crew who died when the Bayesian went down off the coast of Sicily final August throughout a storm which prompted the vessel to capsize and sink.

A listening to in London, which started on Tuesday, will now resolve whether or not Mr Lynch’s property can attraction towards the 2022 and 2025 rulings.

In written submissions, Patrick Goodall, the barrister representing HPE, argued that Mr Lynch’s property was liable to pay $1.7bn, which incorporates round $761m in curiosity.

He mentioned that Mr Lynch had “not only perpetrated an enormous fraud, but lied about it at every stage”.

He mentioned the claimants had spent nearly £150m on the authorized battle, and have been searching for almost £113m of their prices from Mr Lynch’s property.

Mr Goodall additionally mentioned that Mr Lynch’s property shouldn’t be allowed to attraction towards both the 2022 or 2025 rulings.

In written submissions, Richard Hill, the lawyer representing Mr Lynch’s property, mentioned that the $761m in curiosity sought by the claimants was an “excessive sum… based on a flawed analysis” and that the “legally and economically rational approach would provide for a materially lower figure”.

The claimants’ place that “they were the victors in this litigation” was “overly simplistic”, he added.

Mr Hill additionally mentioned that Mr Lynch’s property ought to be allowed to attraction towards the 2 earlier rulings, claiming that the decide “erred in law” and that there was a “compelling reason for allowing the appeal to be heard”.

A spokesperson for the Lynch household mentioned: “Today’s hearing addresses technical matters that change nothing about the underlying substance of the case.

“The core info stay that HP’s declare was basically flawed and a wild overstatement.”

In a separate case, Mr Lynch was extradited to the US in 2023 to face criminal charges, and he was cleared of fraud charges in 2024.

He was celebrating being acquitted on his yacht when it sank.