Law360 (March 1, 2019, 9:51 PM EST) — Cigna Corp. CEO David Cordani did “tremendous damage” to a $54 
billion merger bid by Anthem Inc. during deposition testimony ahead of a successful federal suit to block the deal, a lead Anthem trial attorney testified Friday in Delaware’s Chancery Court.
Christopher M. Curran of White & Case LLP, counsel to Anthem, said the unexpectedly hostile position taken by Cordani ahead of the late 2016 trial “was a powerful moment” for the whole case. The testimony came during the fifth day of a 10-day Delaware trial over billions of dollars in competing damages claims by both insurers.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys were “demonstrably giddy,” at Cordani’s negative views about the deal, Curran told Howard M. Kurtz of White & Case LLP. “They knew they were getting powerful, possibly merger-killing testimony and they loved it. The DOJ attorneys were ready to close the books, wrap up the deposition and go home before lunch.”