HR technology leader Deel announced that its senior executives have officially agreed to accept service of legal documents in the ongoing litigation with industry rival Rippling, based in Ireland. This development ends weeks of speculation and uncertainty which arose after Rippling’s process servers struggled to locate Deel executives, leading to widely reported confusion as to their whereabouts.
Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz, alongside senior legal advisors Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli, consented to accept service through Deel’s representation at Hayes Solicitors, their Irish law firm. The American entity of Deel, Deel Inc., had already been successfully served earlier on April 16, according to recent court filings submitted by Rippling.
In documents filed earlier, Rippling detailed unsuccessful efforts to serve Bouaziz at an official address in Paris, learning instead from a relative that he was in Dubai. TechCrunch had previously reported Bouaziz’s presence briefly in Dubai, although Deel later clarified he resides in Israel and had merely visited Dubai around the Passover holiday. Deel declined to reveal Bouaziz’s current location, citing privacy restraints.
Deel vigorously contested Rippling’s previous narrative that executives had deliberately avoided being served, calling such characterizations inaccurate and defamatory. The firm specifically highlighted Malik’s planned relocation to Dubai as occurring well before the litigation began, and maintained that Mieli had continuously worked from his established home office in Italy.
Central to Rippling’s lawsuit is an accusation that Deel bribed Keith O’Brien, a Rippling employee based in Ireland, to engage in industrial espionage and obtain confidential corporate data. O’Brien himself has filed affidavit testimony supporting Rippling’s allegations, detailing his actions and cooperation with Deel representatives.
Responding strongly, Deel has recently countered Rippling’s allegations with a separate lawsuit filed in the United States. In this countersuit, Deel alleged wrongful actions against Rippling, including similarly engaging in improper activities involving Deel’s internal operations.
Rippling CEO Parker Conrad responded publicly on social media that Deel’s countersuit did not directly dispute the primary accusation: that Bouaziz personally recruited an individual to illegally secure Rippling’s confidential trade secrets.
Rippling has not yet publicly responded to recent developments or requests for comment.
