Good Faith on Taxes at Center of Energy Transfer Court Spat

By Jef Feeley and Tim Loh, Bloomberg News

A key issue in the legal battle between Energy Transfer Equity LP and Williams Cos. over their stalled merger will be the sincerity of lawyers who concluded the deal between the pipeline operators is marred by tax complications, a judge said Tuesday.

“It matters if it was made in good faith,” Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock said of the lawyers’ findings that the combination can’t close because of tax issues.

Glasscock is hearing arguments during a trial in Georgetown over Williams’s claims that Energy Transfer is trying to scuttle the merger ...