Tata Consultancy Services will pay $220 million in connection with a trade secrets lawsuit after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the company's appeal, the firm said in a regulatory filing. The court's refusal to intervene leaves intact a previously awarded $168 million damages verdict in favor of DXC Technology.
The dispute originates from a 2019 legal action launched by Computer Sciences Corp., a predecessor to DXC, alleging that TCS used privileged access to develop a competing life insurance platform. With the Supreme Court decision, the civil award will stand and TCS has announced the accounting steps it will take to reflect the outcome.
TCS had earlier set aside $150 million related to the matter. Following the Supreme Court's action, the company will book an additional $70 million in charges to cover the remaining damages, accrued interest and legal expenses. The additional amount will be recorded as a one-time exceptional expense in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, according to the filing.
The $70 million provision is intended to complete the company’s financial recognition of the liability tied to the award and associated costs. Combined with the prior reserve, the total payment recorded by TCS will amount to $220 million.
Key aspects of the case remain factual and limited to the details set out in the filings: the origin of the lawsuit in 2019, the identity of the plaintiff as the predecessor to DXC, the affirmed $168 million award to DXC, the $150 million previously reserved by TCS, and the additional $70 million charge to be taken as a one-time exceptional item in Q1 of fiscal 2027.
Contextual note - The litigation concerns allegations connected to the development of a life insurance platform, and the Supreme Court's action leaves the lower-court award undisturbed. The company’s disclosure frames the added $70 million as intended to cover damages, interest and legal costs; it will be reflected in TCS’s accounts in the specified fiscal quarter.