Fidelity Donor Trial Wraps With Focus on Promises, Negligence

Arguments wrapped up in a much-watched case over whether Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund properly liquidated tens of millions of dollars of stock that it got through a tax-advantaged donation.

Emily and Malcolm Fairbairn have alleged that the charity arm of Fidelity reduced the value of their stock donation by about $9.6 million and of their tax deduction by around $3.3 million by breaking promises and botching the liquidation. Fidelity, in turn, has insisted it never made the promises and its liquidation didn’t didn’t hurt the stock price—and thereby the donation’s value—anyway.

The case shines a ...