The Delaware Court of Chancery has ordered an investment fund and its manager to pay $20.3 million in damages for using their control over Basho Technologies Inc. to profit from efforts to maneuver the young firm into a “position of maximum crisis.”

Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster on July 6 found Georgetown Basho Investors and founder Chester Davenport joint and severally liable for nearly $17.5 million in a campaign to block out potential financial backers and silence dissenting voices, with the goal of capitalizing on a quick sale.