Final answer:
An auditor may issue a qualified opinion due to pending litigation when it represents a material uncertainty that might significantly impact the company's financials, but cannot be reliably estimated.
Step-by-step explanation:
The auditor's decision to issue a qualified opinion on Tech's financial statements because of uncertainty due to pending litigation would most likely result from a situation where the pending litigation represents a material uncertainty that could have a significant impact on the financial position of the company, yet the effect or outcome of the litigation cannot be reliably estimated. In such cases, auditors express a qualified opinion indicating that, except for the effects of the matter to which the qualification relates, the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the company. This serves to inform the users of the financial statements about the potential financial impact of the litigation on the company.