After a hellish few months, Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd and former chairwoman Patricia Dunn have had huge boosts.

First, HP shareholders have come out with a huge vote of confidence in Hurd by rejecting a plan that would have give them more say over who sits on the board, reports Bloomberg.

Coming after the total board dysfunction surrounding HP's pretexting scandal, covered here and here, this is a significant victory for Hurd and HP directors.

The other big development is the judge dropping all charges against former chair Dunn and letting three other defendants avoid jail, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Sounds like the court bent over backwards to deliver this result, according to this news report.

Indeed, the entire company has just been given a get out of jail card.