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Hewlett Packard Enterprise is set to pursue Mike Lynch's widow for up to £3 billion
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in a continuation of its long-running claim against the UK Tech mogul after his recent
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death on board the Bayesian yacht. The Silicon Valley Giant, formerly known as HP, is poised to see
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through a case against Angela Bacarez for money stemming from a 2022 legal ruling over its purchase
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of Lynch's software firm autonomy for $11 billion in 2011. A British High Court judge ruled that
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Lynch had fraudulently inflated the value of autonomy to induce HP to buy it, the judge has
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yet to rule on the final sum owed to HPE. The nine-month, 40 million pounds civil trial was one of the
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biggest in the UK's history. Following its victory, HPE filed documents earlier this year seeking
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three billion pounds in damages. The judge previously cautioned that the final amount awarded
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would likely be substantially less than the 3.8 billion pounds HBE had claimed at trial
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Lynch co-founded autonomy in 1996 and grew it to become one of the UK's biggest tech firms
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He was given an OBE for services to Enterprise in 2006. The 2022 ruling was just one part of a more than decade-long legal saga over the sale of autonomy
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that involved cases in both Britain and America. In June Lynch and co Stephen Chamberlain were cleared of fraud in a San Francisco court after an 11 criminal trial brought by the U Department of Justice Chamberlain died just days before Lynch after being struck by a car in Cambridgeshire last
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month. Lynch's legal team had planned to use the U.S. victory to appeal the British
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High Court ruling. H.P. appears ready to risk potential negative press that could result from pursuing such a large
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sum from Baccarus, who was on board the Bayesian and also lost her 18-year-old daughter
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in the wreck off Sicily. The trip was reportedly organized to celebrate Lynch's acquittal and ended with the deaths of seven people
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including Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Blumer and Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo
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who defended Lynch in his criminal trial. HPE said in a statement last week that it intended to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion
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The firm declined to comment further on its legal plans when approached by Citi AM
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The amount HPE could seek depends on how much the British judge rules it is owed
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and whether the firm's directors choose to take less than this. Under corporate law in Delaware, the state where it's incorporated
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HPE would have to make a reasonable business case for taking a lesser settlement
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For example, it could try to argue that pursuing Baccarus for what it is legally owed
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would negatively impact its reputation and share price. This option could expose HPE to legal action from shareholders demanding it take the full amount
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