Overview

The decision to bring a claim, or to fight one, can be one of the trickiest problems faced by any business.

It is essential to balance the merits of the case against the potential costs, and not just the financial ones. Even the most solid looking cases can fall apart when they reach court, and any weaknesses will quickly be exploited by opposing counsel at trial. Nothing has demonstrated this to greater effect than the recent BSkyB v EDS ruling.

The case concerned the procurement of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system by BSkyB from EDS. The original contract was worth £48m. The project was not a success and led to BSkyB alleging that it had been induced to enter the contract by the fraudulent, and negligent, representations made by EDS, and presenting a claim for losses in excess of £700m as a result. Perhaps the most talked about aspect of the case was the performance of key witness and former senior EDS employee, Joe Galloway, who headed EDS's CRM practice and was the 'mastermind' behind its bid.

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