This Week in Chancery Court: Corporate Law Changes, Goldendoodle

Delaware’s new corporate law amendments that rigidly define “controlling stockholder” get a fast-tracked hearing before the Delaware Supreme Court this week.

Oral arguments over S.B. 21‘s provisions covering certain types of self-dealing, as well as language making portions of the law retroactive, will be held Wednesday in Dover. A shareholder suing a BlackRock Inc. affiliate involved in a wind farm acquisition says the law violates the Chancery Court’s jurisdiction and Delaware’s due process clause. Corporate defense attorneys, private equity lobbyists, and Gov. Matt Meyer (D) have said the legislation would help restore litigation predictability undermined by rulings cracking down on conflicts of interest.

Here’s a look at what’s going on in the Chancery Court this week:

Tuesday: Shulman v. Kolomoisky, Del. Ch., No. 2019-0678, bench ruling 11/4/25.

At issue: Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook will deliver a bench ruling on motions to dismiss a lawsuit claiming two Ukrainian tycoons stole $30 million from an investor, laundered hundreds of millions through an Ohio steel company, and stripped it for parts. The investor has said the full extent of the alleged fraud in 2019 only came to light when Ukraine’s PrivatBank filed similar allegations of fraud and money laundering against its former controllers, Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov. In July, a London court held the men responsible for fraud that cost PrivatBank billions of dollars.

Court action: Cook will deliver his ruling by teleconference.

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Wednesday: Rosenbaum v. Quarles, Del. Ch., No. 2024-0552, oral arguments 11/5/25.

At issue: The former president and CEO of Trecora Resources, which manufactures synthetic wax and other specialty petrochemicals, seeks the dismissal of a lawsuit claiming he misled shareholders about conflicts of interest in the company’s $247 million sale to Balmoral Funds LLC in 2022. Neither Texas-based Trecora nor Balmoral were named as defendants in the investor lawsuit.

Court action: Oral arguments will be held in Wilmington, Del.

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Thursday: In re Lottery.com Inc. S’holders Litig., Del. Ch., No. 2023-0395, oral arguments 11/6/25.

At issue: An investor’s 2022 lawsuit claims the architects of Lottery.com Inc.'s blank-check merger duped shareholders into approving a lospided deal that gave them a windfall. Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn previously approved a $2.6 million settlement to resolve claims against the backers of Trident Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company that combined with the former AutoLotto Inc. to take it public as Lottery.com. Zurn now will consider multiple motions to dismiss remaining claims in a second amended complaint.

Court action: Oral arguments will be held in Wilmington, Del.

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Friday: Callahan v. Nelson, Del. Ch., No. 2024-1099, hearing 11/7/25.

At issue: Vice Chancellor Bonnie W. David previously decided to “partition” Tucker, a Goldendoodle whose estranged owners have been fighting for possesion since 2022. The dog’s not being split in two, nor is it being publicly auctioned—David wants the ex-couple to figure out who keeps Tucker and who accepts “a monetary award.” As the owners can’t agree, and David says the case “presents a matter of first impression in our Court,” she’s scheduled and evidentiary hearing “to provide the parties an opportunity to supplement their legal arguments with evidence to support their positions on the appropriate partition procedure.” One ex seeks a “transparent auction,” while the other asks for “a factor-based analysis of Tucker’s best interest.”

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

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