The Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday denied a plaintiff access to redacted documents in a derivative dispute alleging that the general partner’s conflicts committee acted in bad faith in approving a $3 billion transaction that undervalued the firm’s assets by $500 million.

In a 16-page letter opinion, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III ruled that the private emails were covered by attorney-client privilege and held, in a matter of first impression, that a narrow exception to the privilege did not apply to a limited partnership in the absence of a fiduciary relationship.