Massey Energy Derivative Litigation

Plaintiffs in this case sought to enjoin the acquisition of Massey Energy by Alpha Natural Resources, alleging that the Massey's Board had failed to secure the best possible price in order to extinguish their potential liability from derivative claims arising from the tragic accident at the Massey's Upper Big Branch mine. We were retained by counsel for Defendants to analyze the economic evidence as it related to Plaintiffs' claims. Compass Lexecon expert Professor Daniel R. Fischel filed an affidavit which demonstrated that the merger consideration provided for a substantial premium to Massey's shareholders, that the economic evidence did not establish that the derivative claims had substantial monetary value, and that the deal terms were fair to Massey shareholders. Vice Chancellor Strine refused to enjoin the merger and cited Fischel's affidavit favorably in his written opinon. Professor Fischel was assisted by David Ross and a team in Compass Lexecon’s Chicago office. We worked with Stuart Gold & Julie North at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, Kevin Abrams & Brad Davey at Abrams & Bayliss LLP, and Greg Danilow at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, who successfully represented the defendants.