Mike Lynchs widow faces $250M lawsuit for reputational damage over doomed Bayesian superyacht
A rogue lawyer for the builder behind the doomed Bayesian superyacht — on which tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others died — sued Lynch’s widow for nearly $250 million, claiming the accident caused the shipbuilder massive “reputational damage.”Filed Friday in Palermo by lawyer Tommaso Bertuccelli on behalf of The Italian Sea Group, the lawsuit said liability for the sunken vessel lay squarely with Lynch’s widow and the boat crew, according to Fortune.And it said TISG had lost significant business because of the disaster, such as a well-known fashion company that canceled plans to hold a brand launch on one of the company’s yachts, the outlet said.But in a bizarre twist, the sea group immediately distanced itself from the suit, claiming it didn’t authorize the filing and wants Bertuccelli to pull the claim, Fortune said.“The Italian Sea Group … strongly denies the claims published in [Italian newspaper] La Nazione regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy,” a spokesperson said.“Although TISG has given a generic mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed or authorized any writ of summons.”Lynch, a British billionaire, died in the early morning hours of Aug.19 when a powerful squall struck the $40 million, TISG-built yacht off the coast of Sicily, sparking tornado-like waterspouts that inundated the craft.Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, also died, as did the ship’s chef, Ricardo Thomas; New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda; and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.Angela Bacares, Lynch’s wife and Hannah’s mother, was one of 15 people who escaped the 184-foot luxury yacht.The voyage had been a celebration of sorts for Lynch, who’d just been acquitted on criminal fraud charges in the US.The exact cause of the boat’s destruction remains unknown, however.Italian prosecutors are probing whether th...