Wipro to contest $140 m lawsuit from National Grid US

Wipro, India's third largest software services firm, on Friday said it would   challenge a $140 million lawsuit filed by electric utility firm National Grid US seeking damages.  

According to a BSE filing, the Bengaluru-based company said the lawsuit relates to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation project which began in 2009 and was undertaken by National Grid US.

"The lawsuit in US District Court for the Eastern District of New York seeks damages amounting to $140 million plus additional costs related to the project," Wipro said.

The company stated that  there were multiple vendors on the project. "Wipro joined the project in 2010, and the post-go-live process was completed in 2014," the company said.

National Grid is a vlued customer of Wipro in the US and UK for several years. "Wipro strongly believes that the allegations mis-state facts and the claims are baseless. Wipro will vigorously contest the allegations in the court," Wipro stated in a filing.

Wipro also received an award from National Grid US with respect to this project in 2014, it noted. The company said, it  has extensive experience across industries in ERP implementation and has forged close partnership with many leading ERP players over the past several years.

"The duration of the engagements, the geographical spread of work and the nature of work delivered across multiple industries is testimony to Wipro's capabilities," Wipro stated.

According to analysts, National Grid faced several lawsuits from employee unions after it faced issues with the upgrade of its payroll system in 2012, post Hurricane Sandy.