Bayesian superyacht builder sacks lawyers over legal action against Mike Lynch’s widow

24 September 2024, 09:14

The builders of the ill-fated Bayesian superyacht have sacked their legal team after a lawyer for the firm filed legal action against Mike Lynch’s widow without their permission.

A legal filing in a Sicilian court raised eyebrows last week after court papers revealed the boatbuilder was demanding up to £186 million from the tech billionaire's grieving widow.

The papers expressed the firm's intention to sue the crew and the tech tycoon’s widow, for damages following the boat's sinking for 'repetitional damage'.

The Italian Sea Group (TISG), which specialises in manufacturing superyachts, denied "authorising" their lawyer to file the case - with the firm adding shortly after that it had been instructed to withdraw it immediately.

On Monday, the group said: “The documents relating to the summons have already been physically withdrawn.”

The filing followed controversial comments made by Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, who previously blamed the crew for the sinking.

Mr Constantino, who had previously claimed the yacht was "unsinkable", alleged the crew had left doors open, allowing the Bayesian to flood and passengers to “die like mice in a cage” following the disaster.

“Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors,” he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor.”

Lawyers working for the Italian shipyard filed the initial writ on September 20 - a month on from the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht.

The boat sank off the coast of Sicily in a freak storm on early on August 19, killing seven people on board including Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Read more: Bayesian boatbuilder 'demands £186m from Mike Lynch's widow and crew' after sinking of superyacht

Read more: Autopsies reveal cause of death of two Bayesian superyacht victims as probe into incident continues

15 people survived the sinking and were rescued in a life raft nearby - including Lynch's wife and a young baby.

The lawsuit claimed TSIG had already lost business due to the sinking, citing a renowned fashion house that had retracted plans linked to the company's yachts.

TISG said in a statement after news of the lawsuit emerged: “The Italian Sea Group… strongly denies the claims published in La Nazione regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy.

"Although TISG has given a generic mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed or authorised any writ of summons.”

The papers reportedly name James Cutfield, the yacht's New Zealand captain, and two other crew members.

Camper & Nicholsons, the yacht management company responsible for hiring the crew, were also reportedly named, according to Italian newspaper La Nazione.

Others included Revtom, the Isle of Man-based company that owned the Bayesian.

The firm is controlled by Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, 57, who survived the tragedy.Bacares was among the 15 passengers who survived after the 56-metre British-flagged luxury yacht went down near Sicily, in the Mediterranean on August 19.