Kroger Trial Concludes in Delaware Court

Closing arguments in the Albertsons and Kroger lawsuit concluded in the Delaware Court of Chancery on October 31, 2026. The two grocery chains spent the final two weeks of October presenting evidence to Vice Chancellor Lori Will. Albertsons is pursuing more than $8 billion in damages and interest. This amount reflects the value of the proposed $25 billion merger that collapsed in 2024.

The legal battle began after federal regulators blocked the initial deal. Albertsons argues that Kroger failed to conduct sufficient due diligence to satisfy those regulators. Kroger counters that Albertsons actively worked to undermine the transaction from behind the scenes. Both sides presented their versions of events through a series of witness testimonies over ten days.

Vivek Sankaran, former CEO of Albertsons, and Rodney McMullen, former CEO of Kroger, both took the stand. Their accounts of the merger process diverged sharply. Susan Morris, who served as Albertsons chief operating officer during the deal and is now its CEO, also testified. She addressed claims that she negotiated a future role with a third party while the merger was still pending.

Morris testified that she communicated with CNS, the company designated to buy stores in the divestiture package. She used personal email channels for these conversations. Morris stated she did so to avoid negotiating an employment contract using official Albertsons contacts. She denied sharing confidential information about Kroger or Albertsons with CNS.

Vice Chancellor Will presided over the trial alone, as the Court of Chancery does not use juries. Her questions during the proceedings focused on the technical details of the store divestitures. She inquired about the economic ratios and methodologies used to select specific stores for sale. This focus suggests the judge is examining the financial logic behind the regulatory strategy.

The case is not yet decided. Attorneys for both companies will return to the courthouse in February 2027 to deliver their final arguments. They will summarize the witness testimony and explain how it supports their respective positions. The judge will then review the record before issuing her written opinion.

The opinion is expected to arrive roughly three months after those February arguments. If either company disagrees with the ruling, they can appeal directly to the Delaware Supreme Court. That additional legal step could add six to twelve months to the timeline. The dispute has been ongoing since the merger failed in 2024.