HP has launched an internal investigation to determine whether or not the company should have fired former CEO Mark Hurd rather than grant him around $50 million in severance when he resigned last year, according to reports.

The internal investigation stems from multiple federal lawsuits filed by irked shareholders, who allege that HP had more than enough grounds to fire Hurd without paying him off.

Hurd resigned last August, officially due to inaccurate expense reports, with a severance package worth over $50 million. However he has been accused both within and outside the company for sexual harassment linked to part-time marketing employee Jodie Fisher, and gross mismanagement. In December the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a separate investigation into whether or not Hurd violated insider-trading rules by leaking to Fisher his plans to acquire a company in 2006.

"Admitting that he violated company policy and recognizing that he misused company assets, conduct that was not in the best interest of and injurious to HP, the board appeared to have more than sufficient basis to terminate Hurd for cause under the severance plan," wrote lawyers for investor Ernesto Espinoza in a complaint obtained by Bloomberg.

Today the San Jose Mercuryreports that HP has hired a new set of lawyers to investigate the matter while shareholders put their cases on hold.

In a January 14 filing in a federal court in San Jose, California, HP said the investigation was a response to shareholder demands, AP reports.

An HP spokesperson declined to comment.