Chris Kanaracus reports:
A judge in Delaware on Thursday ordered the unsealing of a letter containing allegations of sexual harassment by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd, which ultimately led to his departure from the company.
Hurd, who is now co-president of Oracle, was accused of sexual harassment by former HP contractor Jodie Fisher. The letter in question was sent to HP by Fisher’s attorney.
[…]
Hurd’s attorney told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that she plans to appeal the judge’s move. The letter, which “contains many inaccuracies,” should remain confidential, she told the paper.
Under the judge’s order, HP has 10 days to submit a public version of the letter. The judge ordered that several passages be kept under seal.
[…]
The letter is at issue in a lawsuit brought against HP by a shareholder last year in connection with Hurd’s departure.
Read more on InfoWorld.
Should this letter – which is allegations and not proven – be released publicly? It’s the kind of thing people love to read about, but is it right to disclose this? What if it is all false? What about the reputational harm to Hurd?
Does discovery in the civil lawsuit by the shareholder trump any privacy and reputation concerns he might have? And if the letter is eventually released, then why redact several passages? Do those passages involve other parties or do they concern Hurd?
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. What do you think?