Chancery Court has upheld an agreement between mall mainstay, Mrs. Fields Cookies and a commercial baker seeking to get out a contract for cookies sold in retail stores.
Chancellor Andrew Bouchard issued a 107-page decision.
He suggested that the two companies ease the transition to another baker without further court cases.
The agreement between Mrs. Fields and Interbake expires on Dec. 31 of this year.
Neither Mrs. Fields nor Interbake received any compensation for the litigation that involved both companies trading allegations. Both had sued and Interbake had made a $50 milllion offer for Mrs. Fields businesses.
The case dates back to 2016 as the relationship between the two companies deteriorated and Interbake pressed to end the agreement early.
Along the way, Mrs. Fields has struggled with a declining number of stores, lower retail sales and a revolving door of CEOs. Mrs. Fields is owned by a private equity firm. Founder Debbi Fields sold the company in the 1990s.
Interbake, meanwhile, was looking for a cookie that would make up for the loss of Mrs. Field’s sales.
A six-day trial was later held that included more than 700 exhibits, as well as 16 fact and three expert witnesses.