IT outsourcing company EDS (Electronic Data Systems) has been told by courts it must pay BSkyB £200 million in damages, after the company failed to build the computer system it was under contract to.
After EDS was unable to come up with its proposed customer service system for BSkyB, the broadcaster took the IT company to court and has been awarded damages and costs, which could be as much as £200 million, to BSkyB.
This concludes what is now known as the most expensive IT court case ever in the UK.
10-year wait
It all began in 2000 when BSkyB hired EDS to design an advanced customer service technology for its call centres in Scotland. After two years BSkyB terminated the contract and finished the project itself.
In 2004 it filed suit against EDS, claiming that the company lied about the project's time frame and budget in order to gain the contract.
The suit finally went to court in 2007 and was concluded in 2008, just as Hewlett-Packard bought EDS.
However, it's taken 18 months for Mr Justice Ramsey to deliver his verdict.
In a statement, HP noted this was a legacy issue, as it didn't own EDS at the time, but added: "While we accept that the contract was problematic, HP strongly maintains EDS did nothing to deceive BSkyB. HP will be seeking permission to appeal."
Via Hexus
