This Week in Chancery Court: Market Basket Feud, Elliott (1)

A Delaware Chancery Court judge will weigh a bid by Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management LP for swift partial victory in its dispute with a Texas private equity firm over an oil-and-gas partnership that Elliott wants to liquidate.

Here other calendar highlights for the week ahead:

Tuesday: DSM HoldCo Inc. v. Demoulas, Del. Ch., No. 2025-1020, trial 12/16/25.

At issue: Market Basket’s founding family is embroiled in a bitter feud over control of the iconic New England supermarket chain. Ousted CEO Arthur Demoulas was hit with a lawsuit in September by three board members allegedly affiliated with his sisters, who own 60% of the company. The directors say they had no choice but to fire Demoulas—that same day—based on his years of “bullying tactics,” efforts to hijack the company’s succession planning, and generally “autocratic” leadership. Demoulas, a 28% stockholder whose grandfather founded the business, countersued three weeks later. He says the board is making false claims “to further the sisters’ goals in their family infighting,” which also includes trust-related litigation in Massachusetts. Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster agreed to expedite the dispute.

Court action: Laster will preside over a three-day trial in Wilmington, Del.

Wednesday: Harris v. Junger, Del. Ch., No. 2021-0511, settlement hearing 12/17/25.

At issue: Fat Brands Inc. founder Andrew Wiederhorn and other former company leaders have agreed to a $10 million settlement resolving claims the board stood aside while Wiederhorn looted the business before trying to merge it with an investment vehicle. The fast food operator and Wiederhorn—a onetime banker who did 16 months in prison on tax and corporate bribery charges—recently sidestepped a parallel case involving federal securities claims. In addition to the cash payment, the legal accord requires Wiederhorn and his investment firm, Fog Cutter Holdings Inc., to surrender 200,000 shares of Twin Hospitality Group Inc., another fast food holding company affiliated with Wiederhorn. Wednesday’s hearing comes about three weeks after a different investor sued Twin Peaks for internal records, citing preliminary concerns about additional self-dealing.

Court action: Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook will consider the settlement in Wilmington.

Wiederhorn, Fog Capital Sued Over Fat Brands ‘Looting,’ Buyout

Friday: S’holder Rep. Servs. LLC v. Astellas Pharma Inc., Del. Ch., No. 2023-0952, oral argument 12/19/25.

At issue: Former Potenza Therapeutics Inc. shareholders sued Astellas Pharma Inc. through a litigation representative in 2023, alleging a fraudulent scheme to dodge post-deal payments after their 2018 merger. Although the court filings redact the transaction price and the amount at stake, pharmaceutical trade publications reported at the time that the deal involved about $165 million up front and as much as $240 million more. The claims echo a recurring theme for the elite business court, which regularly hears cases brought by startup founders or early investors who say a corporate acquirer sabotaged sales to dodge the contingent payments known as “earnouts.” Edwards defeated a similar case involving a different transaction in 2023. Both sides have moved for summary judgment.

Court action: Judge Sheldon K. Rennie will hear the motions remotely. He’s specially designated to hear the case under a policy that aims to alleviate the court’s workload by assigning some contract-related litigation to Delaware Superior Court judges.

Friday: Eller Assocs., Inc. v. SRP Capital Advisors, LLC, Del. Ch., 2025-1095, oral argument 12/19/25.

At issue: Elliott’s lawsuit against Stronghold Investment Management affiliates, filed in September, says the Texas investment firm “brazenly violated” a 2022 settlement agreement requiring it to wind down their energy fund by late 2023. The activist investor’s wide-ranging lawsuit seeks unspecified money damages and an order compelling Stronghold to honor those settlement provisions. Stronghold has countered that Elliott’s attempt to prematurely exit the venture “before its natural end” would require a fire sale of assets, harming more than 100 other fund investors. Elliott has moved for partial summary judgment of its claim to enforce the wind-down clause.

Court action: Vice Chancellor Bonnie W. David will consider Elliott’s motion at a hearing in Wilmington.

Firm Says Elliott Push to Liquidate Oil Fund Will Hurt Investors

Friday: Scarantino v. Lee, Del. Ch., No. 2024-1181, 12/19/2025 oral argument unscheduled Monday.

At issue: A Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc. shareholder brought insider trading claims last year against its board and private equity backers at Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe LP, Permira Advisers LLC, and Warburg Pincus LLC. The lawsuit says directors tied to the investment firms passed them inside information about Clearwater’s dismal 2024 outlook that they exploited to dodge more than $80 million in stock losses by strategically dumping shares worth $700 million. The hearing originally set for Friday on their motions to dismiss the case would have come as Warburg and Permira are reportedly considering taking the fintech company private.

Court action: A hearing on the motions before Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti Jr. was unscheduled Monday.