The grieving family of tech tycoon Mike Lynch face a new ordeal after US giant Hewlett-Packard refused to rule out pursuing them over a legal case.
In 2022, the firm won a multi-billion-pound High Court claim against Dr Lynch, accusing him of fraud over its 2011 purchase of his company, Autonomy.
His death last week, when his £30million superyacht sank during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily, means his family could be liable for any payout decided by the judge.
But friends of the late businessman, including Conservative MP Sir David Davis, have called for Hewlett-Packard to drop the claim. One said it would be a ‘terrible shame’ for it to continue.
It is a bitter irony that Dr Lynch, 59, had only been just been cleared in a separate criminal trial over the Autonomy case in the US when he and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah died on the superyacht Bayesian.
Mike Lynch, known as ‘Britain’s Bill Gates ‘, died when his £30million superyacht sank during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily
Hewlett-Packard refused to rule out pursuing them over a legal case
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch with his wife Angela Bacares, who survived the disaster
Now his family, including wife Angela Bacares, could be left with a mammoth legal bill relating to the same episode.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) won its civil case over claims that Dr Lynch and Autonomy’s former finance chief, Sushovan Hussain, inflated the revenues of the Cambridge-based business before Hewlett-Packard’s £8 billion takeover.
The US firm initially sought a staggering £4 billion in damages though Mr Justice Hildyard ruled the amount would be ‘substantially less’. It is thought to have spent tens of millions of pounds on legal fees.
At a hearing earlier this year to discuss the level of the payout, HPE said it was still seeking £3 billion. It enjoyed sales of £22 billion last year and profits of £1.5 billion.
The corporate hardware and services business is separate from computer and printer maker HP Inc after a split in 2015.
The judge is expected to rule on damages before the end of the year. And the Mail understands that HPE executives will meet to decide how to proceed with the case after that.
A source close to the case said: ‘It is with the judge. We are waiting to hear from him. There is no decision to be made until he makes his decision.’ A spokesman for HPE, asked if it would rule out pursuing Dr Lynch’s estate for damages, said: ‘We do not think it appropriate to comment on legal matters in these tragic circumstances.’
Tory grandee Sir David said given that the judge ruled that the sum awarded to HP would be ‘a lot smaller than they were claiming’, the company should drop the case.
‘I would think the wise thing for Hewlett-Packard to do in their own interest is to drop the case because they are not going to make a great deal of money out of it but they are going to make themselves very unpopular with the ordinary members of the public, picking on a bereaved family.’
Conservative MP Sir David Davis (pictured) has called for Hewlett-Packard to drop the claim
Tech entrepreneur Lynch with his renovated mill, at his Suffolk farm
Mr Lynch on his Suffolk farm in 2021 when he was fighting extradition to the USA
The Bayesian (pictured in an undated handout photo) overturned during a severe thunderstorm on Monday morning
Hannah Lynch pictured with her father Mike, who had just been acquitted of fraud charges in the US and was celebrating on board the Bayesian yacht when they both died
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was found dead in her own cabin 50 metres below the surface of the Mediterranean
The former Cabinet minister – who supported Dr Lynch in his battle against extradition to the US – said he had lunch with the entrepreneur just three weeks ago, following his acquittal, and they were due to meet again soon.
It came as the diver who retrieved Hannah’s body from the wreckage of the superyacht revealed he struggled to ‘keep his emotions under control’.
Italian fireman Fabio Paoletti, 56, told the Sunday Times: ‘Finding bodies underwater is our job, you get used to it and keep your emotions under control – but locating the girl was different.
‘It was an emotional moment because she was so young.’
Mr Paoletti said he had to dodge floating mattresses, tables and electric cables to reach Hannah’s body, alone in her cabin.