This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between August and October 2019. The cases address developing trends in the definition of a security, fiduciary...more
11/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May and August 2019....more
10/2/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Market Manipulation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Offering Documents ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and April 2019. ...more
6/12/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Omissions ,
Omnicare ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between December 2018 and February 2019....more
3/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Loss Causation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nutraceutical Corp v Lambert ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Pleading Standards ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...more
12/7/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Appointments Clause ,
Breach of Duty ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Partnerships ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
PSLRA ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
Section 11 ,
Securities ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Squeeze-Out Mergers
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2018 and August 2018....
US Supreme Court -
Supreme Court Holds That SEC Administrative Law Judges...more
9/28/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Appraisal ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Class Certification ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Insider Trading ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
TRO
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2018 and May 2018.
...more
7/3/2018
/ China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Derivative Suit ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Etsy ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
FRCP 23 ,
Loss Causation ,
Materiality ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Price-Fixing ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
SolarCity ,
State Law Claims ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Tesla
This quarter's issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2017 and January 2018. The cases address developing trends in appraisal, class certification, core...more
3/27/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Buyouts ,
CEOs ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Core Operations Doctrine ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Dell ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Director Compensation ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
High-Speed Trading ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Mergers ,
Motion to Amend ,
Petrobras ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pleading Standards ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
Proximate Cause ,
PSLRA ,
Ratification ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Scienter ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SRO ,
Stock Drop Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2017 and August 2017....more
9/28/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
CalPERS ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
PLSRA ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations
On March 27, 2017, the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) approved proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) that had been proposed by the DSBA Corporation Law...more
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an important decision on the subject of director independence. In Sandys v. Pincus, No. 157, 2016 (Del. Dec. 5, 2016), the Delaware Supreme Court held that certain directors of...more
12/20/2016
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FRCP 23 ,
Impartiality ,
Independent Director ,
Lock-Up Agreement ,
Nasdaq ,
Pleadings ,
Reversal ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Sale Agreements
On June 16, 2016, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signed into law amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) described in our March 16, 2016, client alert. Among the amendments are changes to Section 262 to impose...more
6/20/2016
/ Appraisal Rights ,
Asset Purchaser ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Mergers ,
New Amendments ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
Short-Form Mergers ,
Stock Purchase Agreement ,
Tender Offers
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including the Court of Chancery’s clarification of its evolving views about disclosure-based deal litigation settlements;...more
5/21/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Buyouts ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Plainly Material Standard ,
Pleadings ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Demands ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Standard of Review
Recent Delaware cases have helped clarify the limits of what the Court of Chancery will consider in a books-and-records demand under 8 Del. C. § 220, and one case has adopted a novel condition that defendants may seek to...more
5/20/2016
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
Shareholder Demands ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Statute of Limitations
On March 16, 2016, the Corporation Law Council of the Delaware State Bar Association announced proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) intended to address appraisal proceedings, Section 251(h)...more
We are pleased to share with you the inaugural issue of Insights: The Delaware Edition, a periodic publication addressing significant Delaware deal litigation and corporation law developments.
In This Issue:
- Q&A...more
10/23/2015
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Bylaws ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
COOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Dole Food ,
Due Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Fraud ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Mergers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Release Agreements ,
Remedies ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Special Committees ,
Standard of Review ,
State of Incorporation ,
Take-Private Transactions ,
Unfair Dealing
Earlier this year, in a consolidated breach of fiduciary duty and appraisal action, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a post-trial opinion that includes many important takeaways for...more
10/22/2015
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Bad Faith ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
COOs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Officers ,
Damages ,
Dole Food ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Mergers ,
Remedies ,
Special Committees ,
Standard of Review ,
Take-Private Transactions ,
Unfair Dealing
In This Issue:
- U.S. Supreme Court:
..Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers Dist. Council Constr. Indus. Pension Fund, 135 S. Ct. 1318 (4th Cir. Mar. 16, 2015)
- Auditor Liability:
..In re Advanced Battery Techs.,...more
6/2/2015
/ Auditors ,
Books & Records ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Justifiable Reliance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Whistleblowers
On March 6, 2015, the Corporation Law Council of the Delaware State Bar Association announced proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) intended to address fee shifting, forum selection and appraisal...more
As previously reported, on May 8, 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion in ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund (German Tennis Federation), No. 534,2013 (Del. May 8, 2014), holding that fee-shifting provisions...more
6/20/2014
On May 8, 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion in ATP Tour, Inc. v. Deutscher Tennis Bund (German Tennis Federation), No. 534, 2013 (Del. May 8, 2014), holding that fee-shifting provisions in a Delaware...more
On April 17, 2014, the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association proposed legislation that, if adopted, would amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) in a number of important ways. Proposed...more
Yesterday, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated opinion addressing the continuous ownership requirement for stockholders in derivative lawsuits, derivative standing, and the fraud exception to the continuous...more
This memorandum identifies and discusses a number of steps public companies may wish to consider regarding director nomination requirements and conduct in light of the heightened potential for arrival on the board of activist...more