SAN JOSE — An investigation of former chief executive Mark Hurd’s departure from Hewlett-Packard can go forward, a judge ruled, rejecting his objection based on claims he deserves to see documents that HP’s board won’t share.
U.S. District Judge James Ware canceled a hearing on the matter scheduled for Monday, finding “good cause” to let the company’s probe proceed while halting the lawsuit that prompted it for 45 days. The suit alleges that directors at the largest maker of computers wasted company money by awarding Hurd, pictured at right, as much as $53 million in severance pay when he resigned as CEO in August.
Hurd quit after the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company found that he violated business-conduct standards in trying to conceal a personal relationship with a contractor. Ware scheduled a new hearing in March, requiring an “update on the investigation” beforehand in a Jan. 20 order.
Hurd, 54, said in court filings that he would consider agreeing to delay the suit only if he gets a copy of the shareholder “demand” that triggered the planned investigation and documents under seal in a related shareholder suit filed in Delaware Chancery Court. Ware’s order doesn’t say whether Hurd was able to see the documents he seeks. Bloomberg News
