Roche Beats Legal Fee Bid Over Trump Pardon of InterMune Founder

The founder of Roche Holding AG subsidiary InterMune Inc., who was convicted of wire fraud, isn’t entitled to have his legal fees covered thanks to a pardon from former President Donald Trump, a Delaware judge ruled Wednesday.

Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook granted partial summary judgment for Roche, which is seeking an order declaring it has no duty to pay for W. Scott Harkonen’s defense or extensive appeals, including two US Supreme Court petitions. Cook stressed that the relevant statute authorizes companies to indemnify only executives who win a case on the merits, not those found guilty.

“The pardon does ...