IDT, Founder Beat $10 Million Fee Bid in Straight Path Deal Case

IDT Corp. and founder Howard Jonas on Tuesday defeated a bid for $9.5 million in legal fees stemming from shareholder litigation over the $3.1 billion sale of Straight Path Communications Inc. to Verizon Communications Inc.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge rejected the request, ruling that although Jonas “blatantly” engaged in fiduciary breaches, they weren’t “so egregious” that he should have to pay for the pleasure of being sued, given that his conduct was ultimately harmless. “One cannot expect a dog to praise its fleas,” Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III said, paraphrasing Yeats.

Although the shareholder attorneys behind the class action ...