Lampert Hit With ‘Rare’ Damages Decision in Sears Hometown Case

Billionaire Eddie Lampert suffered an unusual legal setback Thursday in a case involving the byzantine restructuring of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., a bankrupt onetime affiliate of the iconic department store chain that he took private.

The dispute prompted by the Sears Hometown insolvency has already yielded a $10 million settlement with ex-investors after a novel ruling on the duties of corporate controlling stockholders. The latest decision concerned the complex mechanics of two overlapping but separate lawsuits in Delaware’s Chancery Court, the leading US forum for merger litigation.

A Delaware judge, confronting an issue that “rarely comes up,” ...