As part of a shareholder lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ), the
Delaware Supreme Court ruled Thursday that HPQ must release a letter written to
its former CEO, Mark Hurd. The letter, which made allegations of sexual
harassment, led to Hurds downfall and eventual resignation. Celebrity attorney
Gloria Allred penned the letter on behalf of her client, Jodie Fisher, who
worked as an event hostess for HPQ during Hurd's reign. The language was meant
for maximum impact that is, in terms of getting a nice settlement! The letter
accuses Hurd of having an obsession with Fisher and trying to get her to have
sex with him. The letter said Hurd tried to impress Fisher with his dealmaking
capabilities, such as his $14 billion transaction for Electronic Data Systems.
It also said Hurd showed Jodie an ATM slip that noted a balance of more than $1
million. Apparently, Fisher wasnt impressed and rejected the advances. Now, keep
in mind that Fisher herself ultimately said the letter had "many
inaccuracies." Hewlett-Packard also found no evidence of sexual harassment,
though Hurd eventually resigned amid the scandal. However, the company did
believe Hurd did not properly account for funds he spent on dinners. In the end,
Hurd still landed a nice gig as the co-president of Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL ). He
also picked up a nice $40 million severance package. As is typical in such
things, we likely never will know what really happened. Both Hurd and Fisher
entered a confidential settlement, so their lips are sealed. This is just as
well. Hewlett-Packards new CEO, Meg Whitman, already has a big challenge in
putting together a turnaround , so the company certainly doesnt need a
distraction. And its probably a good bet Whitman will be focused on getting
things done not fooling around. Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog
IPOPlaybook , a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial
public offerings. He also is the author of "All About Short Selling" and
"All About Commodities." Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli . As of this
writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
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