The Delaware Court of Chancery recently imposed attorneys’ fees in connection with a request for sanctions for violation of a Confidentiality Order in the matter styled Accelerant Twister, LLC v. Marjo, LLC, C.A. No. 2023-0887-LWW (Del. Ch. April 10, 2026).

This short letter ruling followed a prior decision in this case to disqualify a putative expert, based on the court’s finding that there was a “meaningful failure to obey the clear terms” of the governing Confidentiality Order. Slip op. at 2, n.2 (citing transcript of rulings from the bench after a hearing on January 23, 2026).

During that hearing, after briefing, the court found that over 300-pages of confidential material were submitted to a designated expert nearly six months before the expert executed the required undertaking. Id.

The court awarded reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in “bringing and briefing” the motion for sanctions as a remedy. Id.

Flouting Confidentiality Order

In the prior Bench Ruling, the court found that a conflict of interest provided grounds for disqualification based on the prior representation of one of the parties. The court also found that the Confidentiality Order was flouted by disseminating sensitive material to the putative expert months before he agreed to be bound by it. The award of attorneys’ fees was necessary to cover the time spent to investigate the violation and to litigate the contumacious behavior. Slip op. at 3.

Reasonableness of Fees

After a discussion about the reasonableness of hourly rates, the court concluded that a blended rate of just over $1,000 was reasonable under the circumstances, referring to Rule 1.5 of the Delaware Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct and the economic survey for hourly rates conducted by the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Patent-related issues in this case were integral, and the attorneys who performed the work had specialized skills in various other areas of the law. The partners involved ranged in experience from 12 through 40 years of practice.