Four Decades for Justice
On September 30, 2009, the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia dismissed the complaint in Mercier, et al. v. Blankenship, et al., a shareholder derivative action. Cravath is representing the current and certain outside directors of Massey Energy Company and the Company as the nominal defendant in connection with this suit.
Plaintiff Vernon Mercier, a purported shareholder of the Company, primarily alleged that the directors consciously refused to exercise their fiduciary duties to oversee the affairs of the Company and its subsidiaries, resulting in violations of environmental and safety laws and regulations. In addition, Mr. Mercier alleged that the directors violated their fiduciary duties by approving a settlement in a parallel state court derivative action and further breached their fiduciary duties by failing to comply with the terms of that settlement. Finally, Mr. Mercier alleged that the directors breached their fiduciary duties by approving excessive compensation for the Company’s Chairman and CEO, Don L. Blankenship.
Judge David A. Faber granted defendants’ motion to dismiss, holding that Mr. Mercier’s claims were precluded by the terms of the settlement of the parallel state court action and that, to the extent his claims were not precluded, Mr. Mercier had failed to demonstrate that a demand on the Board would have been futile. Judge Faber also stated that he was withholding issuance of his Judgment Order so that he could consider defendants’ motion for sanctions against Mr. Mercier and his attorneys under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. The Cravath team included partner Ronald S. Rolfe and associate Sean K. Thompson.
Deals & Cases
October 12, 2023
On October 10, 2023, following a full trial on the merits and an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court, Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) secured a victory resulting in a judgment of more than $600 million.
Deals & Cases
August 29, 2022
On August 25, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted in full Cravath client The Williams Companies, Inc.’s (“Williams”) motion for interest, attorneys’ fees and expenses, totaling more than $185 million at the time the motion was taken under submission. The decision followed post‑trial discovery, briefing and oral argument between January and May 2022.
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