Global HR tech firm Deel has formally agreed to accept legal documents in Ireland, ending weeks of confusion around its ongoing court battle with rival Rippling.
This development follows failed attempts by Rippling’s legal team to serve Deel executives in France and Italy. Deel’s top figures — CEO Alex Bouaziz, and lawyers Asif Malik and Andrea David Mieli — have now agreed to be served via their Irish legal team, Hayes Solicitors.
“Today in court in Dublin Hayes Solicitors agreed to accept service on behalf of all four parties,” a Deel spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.
Deel Inc., the company’s U.S. arm, was already served on April 16, as revealed in a new affidavit filed by Rippling in Irish court on Monday.
Service Delays and Executives Abroad
According to Rippling’s affidavit, multiple attempts to serve the three Deel executives failed. For instance, French bailiffs tried to deliver documents to Bouaziz at an address in Paris on April 10. Instead, they encountered a relative who told them Bouaziz was in Dubai.
By April 15, TechCrunch had reported Bouaziz’s presence in Dubai. At the time, Deel declined to comment. Ten days later, Deel told the publication Bouaziz “lives in Israel” and was in Dubai briefly to celebrate Passover.
When asked for Bouaziz’s current location, Deel declined to comment further, citing privacy.
Deel strongly denied accusations that its executives were dodging legal service.
“It’s a misrepresentation that anyone was avoiding service,” a Deel spokesperson said. “That narrative was clearly being used as a public smear tactic.”
Deel added that Malik’s move to Dubai had been planned for over a year, unrelated to the Rippling case. As for Mieli, Deel claims he still lives and works from home in Italy and was always available to be served.
The Case: Allegations of Corporate Espionage against Deel
At the heart of the dispute is Rippling’s accusation that Deel bribed an Irish-based Rippling employee, Keith O’Brien, to spy on its internal operations.
In a lengthy affidavit, O’Brien admitted to leaking internal company information to Deel.
Deel had remained silent since the allegations surfaced — until now. Last week, the company filed a countersuit in the U.S., claiming that Rippling engaged in its own espionage, allegedly placing an insider within Deel’s organization.
This countersuit marks Deel’s first aggressive legal move in the growing battle.
Rippling CEO Responds
Rippling CEO Parker Conrad fired back on social media. On X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Nowhere does Deel dispute our central allegation — that @Bouazizalex personally recruited a spy to steal Rippling’s trade secrets, and personally directed the theft.”
This back-and-forth between the tech rivals continues to escalate. With both sides trading accusations of infiltration and theft, the case has become one of the most explosive corporate disputes in the global HR software sector.
What began as a quiet legal matter has evolved into a very public feud, involving multiple jurisdictions, affidavits, and now a flurry of lawsuits.
With service now confirmed for all parties, the legal fight will continue in Irish and U.S. courts. Observers expect more revelations in the coming weeks, especially as both companies dig into each other’s internal communications and personnel records.
For now, Deel’s decision to accept legal documents marks a new phase in the dispute — one where the drama shifts from missed bailiffs and global travel to full-blown litigation.
