‘Cable Cowboy’ Malone Loses Bid to End Qurate Stock Case (2)

Billionaire “cable cowboy” John Malone and a top associate, Greg Maffei, must face investor litigation over claims they drained $52 million out of media conglomerate Qurate Retail Inc. through a complex stock scheme, a Delaware judge ruled Wednesday.

Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III let the case move forward, saying it’s plausible the two men “colluded to propose a sham transaction, through which company wealth was wrongfully transferred to Maffei,” who holds senior roles at several major businesses affiliated with Malone. Qurate owns QVC, the multimedia shopping business.

Glasscock, writing for Delaware’s Chancery Court, referred to Maffei as Malone’s “right-hand ...