Jefferies LLC v. Mountain State Energy Holdings, LLC

Court of Chancery of Delaware·Decided July 27, 2026·No. C.A. No. 2026-0410-CDW·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE JEFFERIES LLC, Plaintiff,

v. C.A. No. 2026-0410-CDW

MOUNTAIN STATE ENERGY HOLDINGS, LLC,

Defendant.

ORDER RESOLVING CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON ENTITLEMENT TO ADVANCEMENT

WHEREAS:

A. This is an advancement action.1 B. Plaintiff Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) is a member of defendant Mountain State Energy Holdings, LLC (“Mountain State”).2 C. Jefferies, along with other parties, is a defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by Trilogy Portfolio Company, LLC (“Trilogy”), another member of Mountain State (“Underlying Proceeding”). 3 D. In the Underlying Proceeding, Trilogy asserts that, together with its affiliates, “it held and continues to hold a controlling interest in Mountain

1 See Verified Compl. for Advancement (“Compl.”), Dkt. 1. 2 See id. Ex. 2. 3 Am. Compl., Trilogy Portfolio Co., LLC v. Jefferies LLC, Index No. 651425/2026 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. June 30, 2026) (“N.Y. Am. Compl.”), Dkt. 35 at 1.

State,” with the right under Mountain State’s LLC Agreement to designate two members of Mountain State’s five-person board of directors (“Board”).4 E. Trilogy also asserts a “right of first offer” it holds under Section 9.5 of the LLC Agreement. 5 Section 9.5(a) states:

Prior to an Initial Public Offering, any Transfer of Common Shares by a holder (the “ROFO Transferring Holder”) to any Third Party Purchaser (including, for purposes of this Section 9.5(a), any other Member) (the “Proposed ROFO Transferee(s)”), shall not occur and shall be null and void ab initio unless, prior to the consummation of such Transfer, the ROFO Transferring Holder shall, at least ten (10) Business Days prior to the date that such Transfer is to be consummated, deliver a written notice (the “ROFO Offer Notice”) to Trilogy, Cetus, and Eaton Vance (so long as such holder has a percentage interest equal to or greater than five percent (5%) of all of the then outstanding Shares (on a fully diluted basis)) (the “Offerees”) . . . . Each ROFO Offer Notice shall constitute a binding, irrevocable and exclusive offer by the ROFO Transferring Holder to sell to the Offerees the Offer Shares at the Sale Price on the material terms set forth in the ROFO Offer Notice[.]6

F. The Underlying Proceeding alleges that Jefferies and its client, Hudson Bay Capital (“Hudson Bay”), made misrepresentations to the Board and, by extension, Trilogy, in order to induce Trilogy to refrain from exercising

4 Id. ¶ 27; see also Compl. Ex. 1 (“LLC Agreement”) § 5.3(a)(ii). 5 N.Y. Am. Compl. ¶ 1.

6 LLC Agreement § 9.5(a). The first sentence of Section 9.5 reflects the amended version of Section 9.5(a). See Compl. Ex. 4 at 2.

its right of first offer in multiple transactions designed to give Hudson Bay a controlling interest in Mountain State. 7 G. At first, Trilogy allegedly agreed to refrain from exercising its right for a single transaction. 8 Trilogy allegedly agreed because Jefferies and Hudson Bay executed confidentiality agreements with Mountain State that obligated Jefferies and Hudson Bay to refrain from making other acquisitions of Mountain State shares past the first one. 9 H. The Underlying Proceeding alleges Jefferies and Hudson Bay induced Trilogy, through purported misrepresentations, to approve amendments to the confidentiality agreements. 10 The amendments allowed Jefferies and Hudson Bay to engage in additional transactions of Mountain State shares.11 Trilogy’s approval was allegedly critical because, as noted, Trilogy purports to have a controlling interest (together with Cetus, another Offeree) in Mountain State. 12

7 See N.Y. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 32, 93. 8 See id. ¶¶ 51–53. 9 See id. ¶¶ 42, 63. 10 See id. ¶¶ 81, 85–86, 88, 90–92. 11 E.g., id. ¶ 76. 12 See id. ¶¶ 32, 93.

I. In the Underlying Proceeding, Trilogy asserts seven causes of action, four of which allege breaches of Mountain State’s LLC Agreement.13 The counts all relate to Jefferies’s and Hudson Bay’s alleged scheme to mislead Trilogy and Mountain State, through misrepresentations made primarily to Mountain State, over the course of negotiations between the parties.14 J. In the Underlying Proceeding, Trilogy requests judgment “[d]irecting that Jefferies and Hudson Bay comply with the ROFO requirements under the LLC Agreement” and give Trilogy another opportunity to exercise its right of first offer for the contested transactions. 15 It also seeks an order “directing that Jefferies and Hudson Bay, and any John Doe Defendants acting in concert with Jefferies and/or Hudson Bay, cease interfering with Trilogy Portfolio’s rights, including under the LLC Agreement and that any purported conveyances or transfers by either Jefferies or Hudson Bay Longview in violation of the LLC Agreement are null and void ab initio[.]”16 K. On March 12, 2026, Jefferies submitted an advancement demand to Mountain State.17 The demand included a written commitment “to repay all

13 See id. ¶¶ 125–74. 14 See id. 15 See, e.g., id. 42 (Prayer for Relief ¶ 1). 16 Id. (Prayer for Relief ¶ 2). 17 Compl. Ex. 6.

funds advanced to Jefferies by the Company if it shall ultimately be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction that Jefferies is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company.”18 Neither the advancement demand nor the written commitment specifies the amount of reimbursement demanded.

L. On March 20, Mountain State rejected the advancement demand.19 M. On March 26, Jefferies filed the Verified Complaint for Advancement.20 The parties stipulated to cross-motions for summary judgment and oral argument on the issue of Jefferies’s entitlement to advancement under Mountain State’s LLC Agreement. 21 N. The court heard oral argument on July 1.22 On July 8, Mountain State filed a supplemental brief addressing the amended complaint in the Underlying Proceeding.23 Jefferies elected not to file a supplemental brief.24

18 Transmittal Aff. of Scott S. Balber in Supp. of Pl. Jefferies LLC’s Opening Br. in

Supp. of its Mot. for Summ. J. for Advancement, Dkt. 15 Ex. 1. 19 Compl. Ex. 7. Mountain State noted in its rejection that, under the confidentiality

agreement, it is also owed reimbursement of legal fees it has incurred in a separate litigation with Jefferies. See id. 20 Dkt. 1.

21 Dkts. 7–8. 22 Dkt. 31. 23 Dkt. 32. 24 Dkt. 33.

On July 10, Jefferies submitted a copy of the recently filed amended complaint in the Underlying Proceeding.25 IT IS ORDERED, this 27th day of July, 2026, that:

1. The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment under Court of Chancery Rule 56. 26 Under this rule, “the Court must grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Ct. Ch. R. 56(a). 27 2. “Summary judgment is an appropriate way to resolve advancement disputes because ‘the relevant question turns on the application of the terms of the corporate instruments setting forth the purported right to advancement and the pleadings in the proceedings for which advancement is sought.’” Rhodes v. bioMerieux, Inc., 2024 WL 669034, at *7 (Del. Ch. Feb. 19, 2024) (quoting Senior Tour Players 207 Mgmt. Co. LLC v. Golftown 207 Hldg. Co., LLC, 853 A.2d 124, 126–27 (Del. Ch. 2004)). “In determining whether to award

25 Dkt. 35. 26 See Dkts. 13–15.

27 Court of Chancery Rule 56 was amended effective June 1, 2026. See Order Amending Rules 46, 54–65.1, 67, 69–72, 77–78, 81–83, 85–88, and 100 of the Court of Chancery Rules, https://courts.delaware.gov/forms/download.aspx?id=328858. According to the comment accompanying amended Rule 56, the revisions are intended to align Rule 56 “to the extent possible” with its counterpart in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and “[e]xcept as noted, no substantive change in the interpretation of the rule [is] intended, and prior Delaware authorities interpreting the rule remain applicable.” Id. at 8.

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