Mikhail Gorodetskiy v. Honeywell International Inc.

Court of Chancery of Delaware·Decided April 22, 2026·No. 2025-1085-LM·Published

Opinion

COURT OF CHANCERY

OF THE

STATE OF DELAWARE

LOREN MITCHELL LEONARD L. WILLIAMS JUSTICE CENTER MAGISTRATE IN CHANCERY 500 NORTH KING STREET, SUITE 11400 WILMINGTON, DE 19801-3734 Date Submitted: February 3, 2026 Date Decided: April 22, 2026

Samuel T. Hirzel, II, Esquire Mathew W. Murphy, Esquire Elizabeth A. DeFelice, Esquire Kaitlyn R. Zavatsky, Esquire Catherine E. Lynch, Esquire Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.

Heyman Enerio Gattuso & Hirzel LLP 920 North King Street 222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 900 Wilmington, DE 19801 Wilmington, DE 19801

Re: Mikhail Gorodetskiy v. Honeywell International Inc., C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM

Dear Counsel:

This letter resolves the pending motion for default judgment, motion to dismiss, and motion for summary judgment. At the heart of these motions, is whether the Plaintiff, Mikhail Gorodetskiy, is entitled to advancement of legal expenses under the Certificate of Incorporation. For reasons further explained in this letter, I find the Plaintiff failed to satisfy the contractual prerequisites governing such claims and is therefore not entitled to advancement of legal expenses.

Defendant’s motion to dismiss is, therefore, granted. Plaintiff’s motions for summary judgment and default judgment are denied, and Plaintiff is not entitled to fees-on-fees. This is my final report.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 2 of 20

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Mikhail Gorodetskiy (“Plaintiff”) is the former Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of LLC UOP or OOO UOP (hereinafter “LLC UOP”), which is an indirect Russian subsidiary affiliated with Honeywell International Inc. (“Defendant”).1 Plaintiff served in that role for several years and continued to act as CEO through mid-2022.2 In February and March of 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Defendant suspended and ultimately wound down its business operations in Russia, including those of LLC UOP.3 LLC UOP was dropped from email correspondence and removed from Defendant’s corporate intranet and all other internal systems.4 Plaintiff’s employment formally ended in June 2022. 5 Before his departure, Plaintiff sought clarity on Defendant’s indemnification policies.6 Defendant responded by issuing a letter confirming that its indemnification policies would continue to apply to Plaintiff even after his

1 Docket Item (“D.I.”) 1 ¶ 2.

2 D.I. 1 ¶ 2.

3 D.I. 1 ¶ 18; D.I. 15 at 2.

4 D.I. 1 ¶ 18.

5 D.I. 1 ¶ 2.

6 D.I. 1 ¶ 6; D.I. 15 at 2.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 3 of 20

employment ceased (the “Letter of Indemnity”). 7 The Letter of Indemnity explained that those rights arise under Article Eleventh of Defendant’s Certificate of Incorporation, which governs indemnification and advancement and sets forth the procedures by which an indemnitee may seek advancement of expenses. 8 Due to Defendant’s cessation of its business operations in Russia and LLC UOP’s removal from Defendant’s internal system, LLC UOP was left unable to fulfill its contractual obligations, leading to significant liabilities. 9 In August 2023, a Russian commercial court declared LLC UOP insolvent and appointed Anna Alekseevna Logacheva (“Logacheva” or the “Insolvency Administrator”) as the insolvency administrator, who then initiated proceedings against Plaintiff.10 The Insolvency Administrator brought various claims against Plaintiff as a result of his former position as CEO of LLC UOP (these claims are henceforth referred to as the “Insolvency Action”). 11

7 D.I. 1 ¶ 1; D.I. 15 at 2; D.I. 1, Ex. B.

8 See D.I. 1, Ex. A., art. Eleventh.

9 D.I. 1 ¶¶ 1, 18; D.I. 15 at 2.

10 D.I. 1 ¶¶ 3, 19.

11 D.I. 1 ¶¶ 3, 20.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 4 of 20

The first claim of the Insolvency Action sought the production of documents and information from Plaintiff related to LLC UOP and remains pending.12 A second claim sought to invalidate compensation paid to Plaintiff from March to June 2022, before his termination as CEO and LLC UOP’s insolvency. 13 This claim was dismissed and is no longer subject to further proceedings.14 A third claim challenged the validity of an extension of a loan agreement involving Defendant and LLC UOP that Logacheva claims may have contributed to LLC UOP’s insolvency, and likewise remains unresolved. 15 The Insolvency Administrator also indicated the possibility of pursuing additional claims against Plaintiff based on theories of secondary liability under Russian law tied to the subsidiary’s unsatisfied debts.16 In addition to the Insolvency Action, Plaintiff became involved in separate proceedings initiated by Russian customs authorities concerning documentation related to LLC UOP’s operations (the “Customs Inquiries”). 17 The Customs Inquiries, issued in early 2025, sought information relating to technical

12 D.I. 1 ¶ 20.

13 D.I. 1 ¶ 21.

14 Id.

15 D.I. 1 ¶ 22.

16 D.I. 1 ¶ 23.

17 D.I. 1 ¶ 24.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 5 of 20

documentation imported into Russia by LLC UOP.18 Plaintiff responded to the Customs Inquiries to the best of his recollection but asserted that he no longer possessed responsive materials because company records had been transferred following his departure from LLC UOP.19 Plaintiff incurred legal expenses for these matters and sought to invoke his contractual right to advancement.20 A. The Demand

On February 11, 2025, Plaintiff sent Defendant a written demand requesting advancement and indemnification for expenses associated with the Russian proceedings (the “Demand Letter”).21 The Demand Letter did not include an executed undertaking and did not expressly commit to repay any advanced amounts,

18 Id.

19 Id.

20 D.I. 1 ¶ 36; D.I. 15 at 5.

21 D.I. 1 ¶¶ 36–37; D.I. 15 at 5; see D.I. 1, Ex. C.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 6 of 20

as contemplated by the undertaking requirement in the governing instrument. 22 The Defendant did not advance funds in response to that demand.23 B. Procedural Posture Plaintiff initiated this action on September 24, 2025, seeking advancement of expenses and related relief. 24 After the action was filed, the parties conferred regarding the claims and the governing contractual requirements.25 Defendant raised, among other issues, that Plaintiff had not complied with the procedural prerequisites set forth in Article Eleventh for making a valid advancement demand, including the requirement that an undertaking be provided. 26 Plaintiff submitted the undertaking to the Court on October 14, 2025.27

22 D.I. 1 ¶¶ 36–37; D.I. 15 at 5; see D.I. 1, Ex. C; D.I. 1, Ex. A., art. Eleventh § (2)(A) “.

. . provided however, that . . . an advancement of expenses incurred by an indemnitee in his or her capacity as a Director . . . in advance of the final disposition of a proceeding, shall be made only upon delivery to the corporation of an undertaking . . . to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision . . . that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses . . . ”) (emphasis in original). 23 D.I. 1 ¶ 39; D.I. 15 at 6; D.I. 8 at 2 (Defendant argues that Plaintiff had still failed to make a valid advancement demand on October 10, 2025, and thus had not made an advancement pursuant to the demand by that date.). 24 See D.I. 1.

25 D.I. 15 at 8.

26 D.I. 15 at 8; D.I. 8 at 2.

27 D.I. 9, Ex. 1.

C.A. No. 2025-1085-LM April 22, 2026 Page 7 of 20

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