Sky proves fraud against EDS: Damages in excess of £200 million

4 Pump Court’s Alex Charlton QC and Matthew Lavy represented Sky in it's titanic 7 year fight against EDS. In a judgment handed down from the Technology and Construction Court in London on 26 January 2010, Mr Justice Ramsey found that EDS had deceitfully induced Sky into a £54 million contract for new CRM call centre technology. Damages are expected to be awarded in excess of £200 million. Further hearings will take place shortly to conclude matters. Alex and Matthew form part of a 5 counsel team instructed by Herbert Smith.

The case was one of the largest ever to come to trial. It involved over 500,000 documents, 70 witnesses and 110 days in Court, heard over a full judicial year. The ruling is a landmark decision in IT law representing the fullest judicial scrutiny of IT contracting.

The Judge found that EDS’s head of the CRM practice had been dishonest in his bid to win Sky’s business. Sky also succeeded in proving that EDS had made an actionable misrepresentation in order to induce it into a compromise agreement after the project had failed. Sky was also successful in proving that EDS was in breach of contract for the duration of its tenure as systems integrator with damages calculated by the Judge at £53 million. Sky also proved that, but for EDS’ deceit, it would have contracted with PwC. In a highly technical analysis of the PwC solution, Mr Justice Ramsey dismissed EDS’ core arguments as to when that solution would have been implemented. He also dismissed EDS’s wide ranging complaints that Sky had failed to mitigate its loss after EDS had been removed as systems integrator.

Alex and Matthew are both IT specialists and part of the 4 Pump Court Technology Group.

For a copy of the judgment, or any other enquiries, please contact Stewart Gibbs.