Deel has officially accepted legal service in Ireland in its ongoing court battle with Rippling, marking a turning point in the high-stakes HR tech feud.
After weeks of failed attempts, Deel confirmed that CEO Alex Bouaziz and top legal officers Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli agreed to accept the documents. They did so through Hayes Solicitors, Deel’s legal representatives in Dublin. Deel Inc., its U.S. arm, had already been served earlier on April 16, court records show.
Rippling had claimed it couldn’t track down the individuals. It even hired French bailiffs to visit Bouaziz’s listed address in Paris, where they were told he was in Dubai. Deel later explained that Bouaziz lives in Israel and was only in Dubai for a short Passover trip.
The company dismissed allegations that its executives were hiding. A spokesperson said those claims were misleading and meant to stir public backlash. They also clarified that Malik’s relocation to Dubai was planned long before any legal dispute. Mieli, they added, lives and works from home in Italy and was never unavailable.
The lawsuit, filed by Rippling, alleges that Deel paid a former Rippling employee, Keith O’Brien, to spy on internal operations. O’Brien admitted to this in a signed affidavit.
Now, Deel is pushing back with its own lawsuit in the U.S. The company accuses Rippling of placing a mole inside Deel to gather confidential data. It’s a legal tit-for-tat with big reputational stakes.
Rippling CEO Parker Conrad took to social media, claiming Deel hasn’t denied that Bouaziz personally directed the spy operation. Deel hasn’t responded to that post but continues to deny any wrongdoing.
So far, Rippling has not issued a statement.
