Tweet
December 30, 2010, 9:39 AM EST
By Phil Milford and Dawn McCarty
(Updates with Fisher correspondence in ninth paragraph; company, Hurd responses in 11th.)
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Ex-Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd asked a Delaware judge to allow him to intervene in a shareholder’s lawsuit so he can fight to keep a sealed letter about his departure confidential.
Hurd, 53, under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his separation from the company in August, told Delaware Chancery Judge Donald Parsons Jr. that his name should be added to the suit seeking company books and records because the letter from lawyer Gloria Allred is personal and his alone, according to court papers filed today.
The letter “was sent by Ms. Allred for the purpose of attempting to arrange a private mediation and/or achieve private resolution of a potential dispute between Mr. Hurd and Ms. Jodie Fisher,” who has said the letter contains “many inaccuracies,” Hurd’s lawyers said in the motion.
Being part of the lawsuit would give Hurd standing to argue to keep the letter secret, which according to Hurd’s attorneys both sides oppose.
“HP and plaintiff have indicated that they do not believe the letter is confidential and are unwilling to treat it as such,” Hurd said in court papers. “Courts have recognized intervention as a proper method of protecting confidentiality interests.”
Sealed Complaint
The investor who sued HP, Ernesto Espinoza, is seeking records of HP in a sealed complaint whose allegations haven’t been made public.
Hurd resigned as HP’s chairman and CEO on Aug. 6, after a company investigation of a sexual harassment-allegation determined that he violated its standards of business conduct, according to a statement from Hewlett-Packard. Palo Alto, California-based HP said it didn’t find that Hurd had violated its harassment policy
The former contractor who made the harassment claim was later identified as Fisher by Allred.
In other correspondence, Fisher told Hurd, “I do not believe that HP engaged in any inappropriate conduct towards me in any way,” and, “I do not believe that any of your behavior was detrimental to HP or in any way injured the company or its reputation,” according to a Dec. 26 filing.
Hurd now works for software maker Oracle Corp. as a co- president.
“HP declines to comment,” a company spokeswoman, Gina Tyler, said today in an e-mailed message. Glenn Bunting, a spokesman for Hurd, said today by e-mail, “We will have no comment.”
The case is Espinoza v. Hewlett-Packard Co., CA6000, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).
--Editors: Mary Romano, Charles Carter
To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware, at pmilford@bloomberg.net; Dawn McCarty in Wilmington at dmccarty@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net.
Online Business Consulting | Internet Business Consulting
(Updates with Fisher correspondence in ninth paragraph; company, Hurd responses in 11th.)
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Ex-Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd asked a Delaware judge to allow him to intervene in a shareholder’s lawsuit so he can fight to keep a sealed letter about his departure confidential.
Hurd, 53, under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his separation from the company in August, told Delaware Chancery Judge Donald Parsons Jr. that his name should be added to the suit seeking company books and records because the letter from lawyer Gloria Allred is personal and his alone, according to court papers filed today.
The letter “was sent by Ms. Allred for the purpose of attempting to arrange a private mediation and/or achieve private resolution of a potential dispute between Mr. Hurd and Ms. Jodie Fisher,” who has said the letter contains “many inaccuracies,” Hurd’s lawyers said in the motion.
Being part of the lawsuit would give Hurd standing to argue to keep the letter secret, which according to Hurd’s attorneys both sides oppose.
“HP and plaintiff have indicated that they do not believe the letter is confidential and are unwilling to treat it as such,” Hurd said in court papers. “Courts have recognized intervention as a proper method of protecting confidentiality interests.”
Sealed Complaint
The investor who sued HP, Ernesto Espinoza, is seeking records of HP in a sealed complaint whose allegations haven’t been made public.
Hurd resigned as HP’s chairman and CEO on Aug. 6, after a company investigation of a sexual harassment-allegation determined that he violated its standards of business conduct, according to a statement from Hewlett-Packard. Palo Alto, California-based HP said it didn’t find that Hurd had violated its harassment policy
The former contractor who made the harassment claim was later identified as Fisher by Allred.
In other correspondence, Fisher told Hurd, “I do not believe that HP engaged in any inappropriate conduct towards me in any way,” and, “I do not believe that any of your behavior was detrimental to HP or in any way injured the company or its reputation,” according to a Dec. 26 filing.
Hurd now works for software maker Oracle Corp. as a co- president.
“HP declines to comment,” a company spokeswoman, Gina Tyler, said today in an e-mailed message. Glenn Bunting, a spokesman for Hurd, said today by e-mail, “We will have no comment.”
The case is Espinoza v. Hewlett-Packard Co., CA6000, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).
--Editors: Mary Romano, Charles Carter
To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Milford in Wilmington, Delaware, at pmilford@bloomberg.net; Dawn McCarty in Wilmington at dmccarty@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net.
Online Business Consulting | Internet Business Consulting