This Week in Chancery Court: Exxon, Pioneer CEOs’ Emails, Texts

The Delaware Chancery Court’s chief judge will review this week a decision to block access to texts and emails from Pioneer Natural Resources Co.'s ex-CEO related to the Texas-based energy exploration and production company’s sale to ExxonMobil Corp.

Here’s more from the court’s calendar:

Monday: Thomas v. American Midstream GP, LLC, Del. Ch., No. 2019-0641, trial 5/19/25.

At issue: Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn ruled Dec. 17 that oil and gas provider Third Coast Midstream Holdings LLC must face a class action challenge to a merger between its owner, private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, and American Midstream Partners LP. A federal court in Manhattan in 2021 dismissed a proposed class action challenging its acquisition of American Midstream, finding the shareholders who brought the litigation failed to support their allegations of securities fraud. In the Delaware litigation, one count from a 2019 lawsuit remains to be decided at trial: whether Third Coast breached its limited partnership agreement with American Midstream Partners by improperly approving the merger.

Court action: A one-day trial will be held in Wilmington, Del.

Challenge of Conflicted Merger Headed to Trial in Delaware

Monday: Neem Int’l CV v. Shulman, Del. Ch., No. 2022-0187, post-trial arguments 5/19/25.

At issue: An offshore investment firm sued Ukrainian businessman Vadim Shulman in March 2022, alleging he looted the now-defunct biotech company Pathway Genomics Corp. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace was initially named as a defendant, but Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will dismissed him without prejudice from the case in December 2022. The matter went to trial in December. Shulman says in a post-trial brief that he attempted to save Pathway, making loans to the company, until he decided in 2019 that he could no longer fund its operations. The plaintiffs say Shulman engaged in conflicted transactions before the company’s dissolution.

Court action: Post-trial arguments will be held in Wilmington, Del.

Joint Chiefs Ex-Chairman Named in Pathway Genomics Investor Suit

Tuesday: Operating Eng’rs Constr. Indus. & Miscellaneous Pension Fund v. Pioneer Nat. Res. Co., Del. Ch., No. 2024-0101, hearing 5/20/25.

At issue: Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick will review a pension fund’s exceptions to a magistrate’s Jan. 16 decision declining to order former Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield to release text messages and emails related to the $60 billion sale that closed in May 2024. Senior Magistrate Judge Selena E. Molina determined that communications between Sheffield and ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods from June 2023 through October 2023 weren’t essential to the fund’s investigation of potential wrongdoing in the sale. ExxonMobil wasn’t named as a defendant in the litigation.

Court action: The hearing will be held in Wilmington, Del.

Exxon, Pioneer CEOs’ Emails, Texts May Be Withheld, Judge Says