Hewlett suit a failure, H-P argues Company discloses final argument in merger trial
By Associated Press .... 5:44 PM ET April 27, 2002
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. heir Walter Hewlett fell far short of proving his lawsuit against the company and should abandon his fight to stop the merger with Compaq Computer Corp., H-P attorneys argued in a scathing legal brief.
The brief, filed Friday night and released by H-P on Saturday, was the equivalent of a closing argument after a three-day trial that ended Thursday in Wilmington, Del.
Hewlett offered no proof H-P (HWP: news, chart, profile) lied about the chances the Compaq (CPQ: news, chart, profile)deal could achieve its publicly released financial goals, the attorneys said. He also offered no tangible evidence that H-P threatened Deutsche Bank or coerced its investment managers into switching 17 million shares in favor of the deal, the brief said.
"They are pitching the bribery claim as a 'circumstantial' case with the subtlety and intrigue of an Oliver Stone screenplay," the H-P attorneys wrote.
"Carly Fiorina's philosophy in connection with this merger has been 'under-promise and over-deliver,"' the brief said, referring to the H-P CEO's testimony that the Compaq deal actually should exceed its stated goals. "Plaintiffs' performance in this lawsuit has been to 'over-promise and under-deliver."'
Attorneys for Hewlett, whose 15-year tenure on the H-P board ended Friday, also filed a post-trial brief with the court but hadn't released copies to reporters by Saturday afternoon.
Hewlett sued H-P in Chancery Court in Delaware, where H--P is incorporated, in hopes of overturning the March 19 shareholder vote, won by H-P 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent, according to an unofficial, preliminary tally.
Judge William B. Chandler III said Thursday he would rule quickly. If Chandler lets the $18.2 billion deal stand and H-P's victory in the proxy vote holds up, H-P and Compaq Computer Corp. are prepared to officially begin working together May 7.
H-P's lawyers asked Chandler to rule in the company's favor and also publicly vindicate "the integrity and moral rectitude" of Fiorina and Robert Wayman, H-P's chief financial officer.
"The time has come to force Walter Hewlett and his team to face reality," the H-P brief said. "They lost. It is time to stand down and allow these companies to get on with the work of implementing the integration planning." |
