U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly of the District of Delaware ruled in favor of an energy software company and its executives, and granted them yet-unspecified attorney fees and expenses, in a long-running shareholder dispute.

Connolly’s 51-page opinion Wednesday told the story of a company valued at as much as a half-billion dollars—C3 Inc.—a founder who was attacked by an elephant on a safari in Africa—Thomas Siebel—and a colleague who filled in during his convalescence—David Schmaier.