Ending a three-year-old dispute with Orange County, India's outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services settled its legal battle with the California county for $26 million (Rs 174 crore approximately). The Indian consultancy firm was accused of making "a series of false promises and intentional misrepresentations" while bidding for a contract in 2013, mint reported.

In a press release titled "Tata pays $26 million to settle lawsuit over failed software", the county said the Mumbai-based multinational and its US affiliate settled the litigation over a failed replacement to the county's automated property tax system that was meant to have been completed in 2010 but was never completed. The county alleged that the consultancy firm "took what was originally promised to be a two-year, $6.4 million contract and tried to stretch it into a six-year, $17 million project."

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TCS had filed a counter-complaint asking the court to dismiss Orange County's claims. Without confirming or denying the settlement amount, the Indian firm's spokesperson said, "The settlement was reached after a mediation conducted by Magistrate Judge Jay C Gandhi, representing a compromise between the two parties, versus the prospect of a lengthy trial in Orange County."

According to a Business Standard report, the California county said it received a notification on August 19 that the payment had been wired to the County Treasurer-Tax Collector. Following the settlement, the county will dismiss its lawsuit against Tata, which in turn will dismiss its counter complaint, the report said. The spokesperson said both disputing parties had claims against either, but that none have claimed liability for the accusations. TCS's shares ended 1.1 per cent lower at Rs 2,572 as compared to a 0.20 per cent gain in Nifty50 index on Wednesday, NDTV reported.