A shareholder group taking Yahoo! Inc.'s [YHOO] board of directors to court for allegedly not exercising their fiduciary duty in negotiations with Microsoft Corp. [MSFT] was dealt a setback after a Delaware judge rejected a request for an expedited trial.

Lawyers representing the Police & Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit and the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit were looking to speed up a decision on the validity of a severance plan put in place by Yahoo! in February after Microsoft offered to acquire the company. They were hoping to get a decision before Yahoo!'s Aug. 1 shareholder meeting.

But Chancellor William Chandler of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware denied the motion, saying the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden for showing why the matter needed to be heard quickly. The judge said he would be able to rule on a motion by lawyers for Yahoo! to dismiss the case before Aug. 1. -- David Shabelman

See June 16 ruling from Delaware Court of Chancery
See June 16 post on Yahoo! proxy fight from Tech Confidential
See June 17 post on possible successors to Jerry Yang from All Things Digital