Before entrepreneur and investor Mike Lynch died along with six others after the yacht they were on capsized in a storm last week, the party was celebrating Lynch’s victory in the U.S. criminal courts. In June, he was acquitted of all counts of fraud connected to HP’s 2011 acquisition of his company, Autonomy. But it was not the final chapter in that dispute. HP (now known as HPE) was still trying to recover $4 billion from him as a result of a civil case Lynch lost in the U.K.
Now HPE faces the question: does it forge ahead, even with Lynch deceased?
An article in Fortune notes HPE could be facing a PR disaster if it does; further, the estate is further unlikely to be able to do anything until it resolves any other litigation or appeals.
Still, $4 billion is no small sum, leading a legal expert to colorfully describe HPE’s predicament to the outlet as “on the horns of a dilemma.”