Appellate Court Affirms Interpretation of Merger Agreement

DES MOINES, Iowa -- An Iowa appellate court has affirmed an award of summary judgment, ruling that an underlying merger agreement clearly indicates that liabilities of the company being bought were not intended to be transferred to the purchaser. Fisher Controls International, et al. v. Pharmacia Corp., et al., No. 7-943/07-0003 (Iowa Ct. App.).

In the Feb. 13 decision, the Iowa Court of Appeals said that a lower court was correct in finding that the liabilities were simply transferred from an older version of the company to a new version that was formed after the merger in a separate agreement.