BSkyB and HP/EDS settle on £318m in damages

HP has agreed to pay BSkyB £318m in damages six months after a UK court ruled that HP-owned EDS had misrepresented its capabilities in delivering a CRM system.

The CRM system was ordered in 2000 and the legal battle followed until the court ruled in BSkyB's favour in January.

A BSkyB spokeswoman said both parties have come to mutually agreed terms and it is now closed.

BSkyB originally claimed for £700m. Mark Lewis, partner and head of outsourcing at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said the thinking in the legal sector was that the final amount agreed on was likely to be less.

But he said this is still 10 times higher than the amount that EDS was liable for in the original contract. "There was a £30m cap on liability in the original contract but this no longer applied because of the fraudulent misrepresentation."

He said this highlights how important it is that suppliers to not mislead customers on their capabilities.

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