Bayesian boat builder ‘seeks £186m from widow of Mike Lynch and his crew’ after sinking…

September 22, 2024, 18:17 | Updated: September 22, 2024, 19:09

A legal dispute erupted following the sinking of Mike Lynch’s superyacht, with the boat builder seeking £186 million in damages from the tech tycoon’s widow and the boat’s crew, court documents show.

The lawsuit, filed in a Sicilian court, alleges that the sinking of the Bayes ship last month caused a loss of reputation and profits for its builder.

Superyacht specialist Italian Sea Group (TISG) has denied “authorising” its lawyer to file the case after reports the documents were filed. The company said it had been instructed to withdraw the documents immediately.

Lynch’s family said the decision was “disgraceful” due to the deaths of the 59-year-old, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five other people.

Seven bodies have only recently been returned to the country and it is believed that no funerals for the victims have yet taken place.

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TISG said in a statement: “The Italian Maritime Group… strongly denies the claims published in La Nazione regarding legal action following the Bayesian tragedy.

“Although TISG has granted general authorization to the attorneys named in the article, no legal representative of the company reviewed, signed or authorized any subpoena order.”

The newspapers reportedly named James Cutfield, the yacht’s captain from New Zealand, and two other crew members.

According to Italian newspaper La Nazione, yacht management company Camper & Nicholsons, responsible for hiring the crew, was also named.

Others include Revtom, the Isle of Man-based company that owned Bayesian. The company is run by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, 57, who survived the tragedy.

Bacares was among 15 passengers who survived when the 56-metre, British-flagged luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea on 19 August.

It is suspected that the yacht may have been struck by a “downdraft” – a localised, strong wind that occurs during a storm and spreads quickly after hitting the ground.

All crew members survived except the chef, but six passengers were trapped in the yacht’s hull and died.

TISG CEO Giovanni Costantino publicly blamed the crew for using Bayesian methods hours after the disaster, before all the bodies were found.

“Everything that has been done reveals a very long list of mistakes,” he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. “People should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor.”

He claimed that the yacht was “unsinkable.”

A close friend of Lynch’s family told The Times: “Italian Maritime Group should be ashamed. Giovanni Costantino is a disgrace, desperately trying to shift the blame.

“He rushed to the media before all the bodies were recovered, showing his lack of decency. Now, it seems, he wants to sue his own clients.”

The decision comes after Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) confirmed plans to pursue a compensation claim of up to £3 billion from Lynch following his death.

The US tech giant won a civil case against him in the UK High Court in 2022, accusing him and his former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, of fraud relating to the 2011 acquisition of his software company Autonomy for $11 billion (£8.37 billion).

US company HPE is seeking up to $4 billion (£3 billion) in damages, with a judge expected to rule on the final sum soon.

In June, Lynch was acquitted in the U.S. in a separate criminal trial relating to fraud in the Autonomy case.

His death means Bacares could now be liable for a compensation claim in London.

HPE said: “In 2022, a judge of the English High Court ruled that HPE had substantially succeeded in its civil fraud claims against Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain.

“A compensation hearing was held in February 2024 and the judge’s decision on the compensation payable to HPE will be made in due course.

“HPE intends to pursue the proceedings to conclusion.”

A judge presiding over a civil case in the UK has already ruled that the compensation amount will be “significantly lower” than the amount sought by HPE, raising questions about HPE’s reasoning for pursuing the claim following the superyacht tragedy.