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Business Judgment Rule Board of Directors Breach of Duty

Venable LLP

Fiduciary Liability Limitations Under Nevada Law Trigger Entire Fairness Review of Conversion from Delaware Due to Controlling...

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The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Palkon v. Maffei, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0449-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), determined that a reduction in the liability exposure of a fiduciary due to the conversion of a Delaware...more

BCLP

Tesla’s Super-charged Equity Award to Elon Musk Unplugged by Delaware Court Cautionary Tale for Boards and Executives

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The Delaware Chancery Court invalidated a substantial equity award to Elon Musk – the largest in history. It applied the entire fairness test instead of the more deferential business judgment rule, finding that Musk...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Rescinds Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Compensation Package in Cautionary Tale About Director Independence...

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On January 30, 2024, the Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the $55.8 billion compensation plan that Tesla, Inc.’s board of directors had granted to Tesla’s well-known CEO, Elon Musk, finding that the...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Business Judgment Rule Saves Disney Officers and Directors in a Stockholder Records Action

Corporate activity related to ESG can have profound legal and market consequences. These consequences can be cut many ways. Although having taken a position on Florida legislation that resulted in negative business...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

The Business Judgment Rule – a Director’s Best Friend

In corporate law, it is customary to identify three organs through which a business company operates: the shareholders, the company’s management, and the board of directors. While the duties and rules by which shareholders...more

Goodwin

McDonald’s Part Two: Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claims Against Directors Arising From Sexual Harassment Issues

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On March 1, 2023, in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims against McDonald’s directors...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Delaware Chancery MFW Framework Does Not Require Best Deal

As Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (MFW) establishes, the Business Judgment Rule must be applied to a transaction involving a controlling shareholder, if the deal is conditioned upon the approval of: (1) an independent special...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Life May Not Be Fair, But Interested Party Transactions Should Be

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When a court reviews contested business transactions of a Delaware corporation, they typically rely on one of two standards of review: the “business judgment rule” or the “entire fairness standard.” The business judgment rule...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Derivative Claim for Failure to Show Demand Futility

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Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Derivative Claim for Failure to Show Demand Futility; Federal Illegality of Marijuana Industry Bars Relief for Numerous Investor Claims; LIBOR Convictions of Former Deutsche Bank Traders...more

BCLP

Delaware Chancery Court Decision Highlights Risks of Liability for Directors in SPAC Deals

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A recent Delaware Chancery Court decision highlights the liability risks faced by directors and sponsors of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) and the importance of robust disclosure in protecting against those...more

Freeman Law

The Business Judgment Rule in Texas

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Corporate officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to the corporation that they serve, and they can be held liable if they breach that fiduciary duty. Fiduciary duties are not codified in the Texas Business Organizations...more

Goodwin

A Win for Deal Certainty, Delaware Court of Chancery Orders Closing of Cake Supplier Acquisition

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A Win for Deal Certainty, Delaware Court of Chancery Orders Closing of Cake Supplier Acquisition; Under Armour to Pay $9M to Settle SEC Charges Involving Disclosure Failures; First Circuit Upholds Decision Applying Federal...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Sustains Claims Against Target’s CEO, Target’s Financial Advisor, and Acquirer for Allegedly Covertly Steering Merger...

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Firefighters’ Pension System of The City of Kansas City, Missouri Trust v. Presidio, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0839-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan. 29, 2021) Presidio illustrates potential pitfalls for parties in the M&A process, including...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

If the Shoe Fits . . . . Defendants in Nine West D&O Litigation Fail to Convince Judge to Dismiss Claims for Breach of Fiduciary...

A recent decision by Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York highlights the risks faced by directors and officers of companies in financial distress who fail to undertake properly their duties to the company and...more

Winstead PC

Court Addressed A Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Officers And Directors For Self-Interested Transactions, Misuse Of Company...

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In Roels v. Valkenaar, a shareholder filed a shareholder derivative suit against former and current officers and directors of the company based on multiple claims of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 03-19-00502-CV, 2020 Tex....more

Troutman Pepper

Fraud on the Board II: Conflicted CEO Tilts Company Sale in PE Firm’s Favor

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In In re Mindbody, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims against the chief executive officer of MINDBODY, Inc. (the Company) arising out of the...more

Troutman Pepper

Fraud on the Board: Material Conflicts Must Be Disclosed to the Board to Warrant Business Judgment Review

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A recent decision by the Delaware Supreme Court emphasizes the importance of fully disclosing material director and officer conflicts of interest in connection with proposed M&A transactions. Indeed, as the Court’s ruling...more

White and Williams LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Holds That a Transaction Involving a Conflicted Board Majority Can Be Cleansed If Appropriate Safeguards...

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In a legal challenge to a corporate transaction, the applicable standard of review is often outcome determinative. The deferential business judgment rule applies where the board is not majority conflicted. The burden is on...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Importance of Full Disclosure

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Directors and officers of corporations owe a duty of care and a duty of loyalty to both the corporation and its shareholders, although the duty of care for directors can be exculpated. A breach of these fiduciary duties can...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Directors’ Fiduciary Duties: Back to Delaware Law Basics

The dawn of a new decade brings with it the certainty of ongoing challenges to the conduct of public company directors based on alleged breaches of fiduciary duty. This note is a brief reminder for directors of Delaware...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Warum die aktuelle Siemens-Diskussion auch für andere Unternehmen relevant ist

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Es wird viel über die Entscheidung von Siemens diskutiert, vertragsgemäß Signaltechnik für eine Zugstrecke zu liefern, die das australische Carmichael-Bergwerk mit dem Meer verbindet. Warum ist das Interesse hier so groß?...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Sustains Claims Against Board Chairman who Rolled Over Equity in Going-Private Transaction and Officers Who Crafted...

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Morrison v. Berry, C.A. No. 12808-VCG (Del. Ch. Dec. 31, 2019). Plaintiff, a former stockholder of The Fresh Market, Inc. (the “Company”), brought claims arising out Apollo’s 2016 acquisition of the Company....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Key Developments in Delaware Corporation Law

Consistent with trends in recent years, in 2019 Delaware corporation law largely was shaped by post-closing suits for money damages against directors who had approved mergers and acquisitions. Two Delaware Supreme Court...more

Winstead PC

Court Discusses Claims Against Corporate Board Members And The Business Judgment Rule

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In In re Estate of Poe, the son of a car dealership owner who was frozen out of control of the business by the dying father’s decision to issue new stock sued his father’s estate, trust, and officers of the business. No....more

Jones Day

Chancery Court Requires Entire Fairness Review of Tesla CEO Compensation

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The Background: A shareholder challenged an extraordinary and extremely lucrative incentive-based compensation package awarded by Tesla to its chair, CEO, and controlling shareholder, claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. ...more

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