Judge orders ex-Hewlett executive to drop claims

A former Hewlett-Packard Co. executive was ordered to withdraw public claims in court documents that the company paid for inside information on Dell Inc. and sought to obtain his phone records improperly.

Karl Kamb, a former Hewlett-Packard vice president, made the claims Jan. 19 in federal court in Tyler, Texas. Hewlett-Packard obtained a court order to have the claims withdrawn.

If Kamb wants to make the accusations, he must file them under seal so they aren't open to the public, U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider wrote.