{"url":"https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1148xxe1148xxv000063&gca-ft=9&gca-ds=sophi","title":"Court orders TransPerfect CEO to pay $7.1M sanctions","domain":"delawareonline.com","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/34817076/pexels-photo-34817076.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"courtroom gavel","category":"Politics","language":"en","slug":"1af12c97","id":"1af12c97-3bb4-44f6-b774-268c68f26820","description":"Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Andre Bouchard ordered TransPerfect co-founder Phil Shawe to pay co-founder Liz Elting $7.1 million in sanctions.[[1]](h","summary":"## TL;DR\n- Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Andre Bouchard ordered TransPerfect co-founder Phil Shawe to pay co-founder Liz Elting $7.1 million in sanctions.[[1]](https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642)\n- The sanctions cover one-third of Elting's trial fees from late 2014 to mid-2015 plus all fees for her sanctions motion, after a two-day hearing.[[2]](https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiasavchuk/2016/07/20/court-sanctions-transperfect-cofounder-phil-shawe-for-lying-under-oath-destroying-evidence)[[3]](https://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?id=243890)\n- Shawe's \"unusually deplorable behavior\" included deleting laptop files, mishandling phone evidence, accessing Elting's emails, and lying under oath.[[4]](https://apnews.com/transperfect-co-founder-hit-with-7-1-million-in-sanctions-052071c4857e4771b14473e175780dbd)[[5]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730)\n\n## The story at a glance\nA Delaware judge ordered TransPerfect co-CEO Phil Shawe to pay $7.1 million to co-CEO Liz Elting as sanctions for misconduct in their lawsuit over company control. The two co-founders, former romantic partners, had deadlocked management of the profitable translation firm, leading Chancellor Andre Bouchard to earlier appoint a custodian for its sale. This ruling implements a July 2016 sanctions opinion after Bouchard found Shawe acted in bad faith.[[1]](https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642)\n\n## Key points\n- Bouchard cited Shawe's intentional deletion of about 19,000 files from his laptop the day before forensic imaging, despite a court order.[[5]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730)\n- Shawe remotely accessed Elting's computer at least 44 times, viewing roughly 19,000 Gmails including 12,000 privileged ones with her lawyers.[[5]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730)\n- He failed to preserve phone texts with employees and lied repeatedly under oath in interrogatories, depositions, trial, and an affidavit to cover it up.[[3]](https://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?id=243890)\n- Sanctions amount to 33% of Elting's fees for merits trial (December 2014-August 2015) plus 100% for the sanctions motion and hearing.[[3]](https://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?id=243890)\n- Shawe had to pay within 10 business days; he vowed to appeal, calling the ruling baseless.[[1]](https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642)\n\n## Details and context\nTransPerfect, a New York-based translation company, faced irretrievable deadlocks between its only two directors—Shawe and Elting—threatening harm despite strong profits of $470 million revenue and $80 million net income pre-trial.[[5]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730) Earlier, Bouchard appointed a custodian to sell it after a six-day trial showed dysfunction from bullying, threats to shut down operations, and litigation spending over $27 million in under two years.[[5]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730)\n\nThe misconduct stemmed from a sanctions motion filed before that trial, leading to a separate two-day hearing in January 2016. Bouchard described Shawe's actions as bad faith that vexatiously prolonged and complicated the case, justifying fee-shifting under Court of Chancery inherent powers.[[3]](https://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?id=243890)\n\nShawe later bought out Elting in the auction for about $770 million, but the sanctions were upheld on appeal by the Delaware Supreme Court in 2017.[[6]](https://www.transperfect.com/about/news/del-supreme-court-upholds-770m-transperfect-sale-co-founder)\n\n## Key quotes\n> “Citing ‘unusually deplorable behavior,’” — original article lead on Bouchard's finding.[[1]](https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642)\n\n## Why it matters\nThe ruling underscores Delaware courts' authority to sanction litigation abuse in deadlocked companies, protecting judicial process even for solvent firms. It means co-owners in feuds face personal liability for evidence tampering or lies, hiking costs in high-stakes disputes. Watch appeals or enforcement, though the Delaware Supreme Court upheld it in 2017.[[7]](https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=252560)","hashtags":["#delaware","#business","#law","#transperfect","#sanctions","#corporate"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1148xxe1148xxv000063&gca-ft=9&gca-ds=sophi","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/2016/08/22/court-orders-transperfect-ceo-pay-71m-sanctions/89098642","title":""},{"url":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/katiasavchuk/2016/07/20/court-sanctions-transperfect-cofounder-phil-shawe-for-lying-under-oath-destroying-evidence","title":""},{"url":"https://courts.delaware.gov/opinions/download.aspx?id=243890","title":""},{"url":"https://apnews.com/transperfect-co-founder-hit-with-7-1-million-in-sanctions-052071c4857e4771b14473e175780dbd","title":""},{"url":"https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=319730","title":""},{"url":"https://www.transperfect.com/about/news/del-supreme-court-upholds-770m-transperfect-sale-co-founder","title":""},{"url":"https://courts.delaware.gov/Opinions/Download.aspx?id=252560","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-08T13:26:02.478Z"}