HP Shareholders Sue Ex-CEO Hurd and HP Board of Directors
A Wall Street Journal article reports that Connecticut-based law firm, Scott + Scott, filed a shareholder derivative suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California on Tuesday against HP's board, alleging directors mismanagement in connection with the events surrounding the resignation of CEO Mark Hurd.
The suit, which seeks corporate-governance changes at the company, lists HP shareholder Brockton Contributory Retirement System as the plaintiff. The 45-page suit alleges that HP's board violated its corporate-governance guidelines by failing to inform shareholders of the investigation. Hurd's severage package of more than $35 million is also attacked.
The suit seeks to reclaim the severance paid to Hurd and to force the board’s members to reimburse H-P for any damages their actions caused. It also seeks punitive damages. Because the suit is “derivative” in nature, any money recovered would be awarded to HP, not the plaintiffs. Neither an HP spokesperson nor a spokesperson for Hurd commented for the WSJ story.
Read the WSJ story.