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Corporate Governance Shareholders Shareholder Litigation

Allen Matkins

Is Your Directors And Officers Liability Coverage Illusory?

Allen Matkins on

Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies.  Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides.  Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more

Allen Matkins

After More Than A Year, Questions Remain Regarding Caremark and Officers

Allen Matkins on

Last year, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster famously held that officers could be subject to liability under the Caremark doctrine.  In re McDonald’s Corp., 289 A.3d 343 (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2023).    The Caremark doctrine...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Finds a ~27% Founding Stockholder Is Not a Controller

On July 2, 2024, the Delaware Chancery Court in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca dismissed stockholder claims in connection with the $3 billion merger of Viela Bio and Horizon Therapeutics in 2021. The merger was approved by Viela’s...more

Troutman Pepper

"Market Practice" 2024 DGCL Amendments Become Effective

Troutman Pepper on

The amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) are effective yesterday, August 1, and will apply retroactively to agreements and contracts that a Delaware corporation entered into, or that a Delaware...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Officer Exculpation and the Silicon Valley 150: Year Two

Last year, we reviewed proxy statements filed by companies in the Silicon Valley 150 (SV150) to see whether they included an officer exculpation proposal in their proxy statements for stockholder meetings held from August 1,...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Corporate Barbarians at the Gates: The Attack on Delaware

Woodruff Sawyer on

All empires eventually decline. For decades, Delaware has held the crown as the premier state of incorporation for domestic companies (and many foreign companies seeking a foothold in the United States capital markets). But...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Massachusetts Business Litigation Session Decides Issues of First Impression in Appraisal Rights Action

Foley Hoag LLP on

The Court held that a modification of an existing stock restriction that has a material adverse effect on a shareholder’s ability to transfer their shares automatically triggers the shareholder’s appraisal rights and ability...more

Mayer Brown

DGCL Amendments Proposed to Address Recent Delaware Court of Chancery Decisions Affecting Stockholder Agreements, Board Approvals...

Mayer Brown on

Three recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) have upended long-standing market practice related to, among other matters, stockholder agreements, board approvals of merger agreements and the...more

Allen Matkins

Does Revlon Make Nevada Tense?

Allen Matkins on

In Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., 506 A.2d 173, 182 (1986), the Delaware Supreme Court famously held that when the sale of a corporation becomes inevitable,  the board of directors' duty changed from the...more

Allen Matkins

Does Guzman Supply An Answer To Moelis?

Allen Matkins on

I always enjoy hearing from readers of this blog.  Recently, I wrote: Reading these statutes together, it is relatively clear that Nevada, like Delaware, permits the articles of incorporation to vary the mandate that...more

Cooley LLP

Controversial Delaware legislation breezes through Delaware Senate

Cooley LLP on

Controversy notwithstanding, the proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law in Senate Bill 313 have reportedly “sailed through” the Delaware Senate and are scheduled to move to the Delaware House this week....more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

MFW Framework Inapplicable Where Conflicts Are Not Adequately Disclosed to Stockholders

Following other recent decisions addressing the applicability and scope of Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”), including In re Match Group Inc., Derivative Litigation and Tornetta v. Musk, on May 1, 2024, the Delaware...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Proposed Amendments to the DGCL Address Issues Raised by Recent Delaware Court Decisions

On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association approved legislation proposing to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in response to recent Delaware Court of...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Rejects The "Uncontrollable Child" Theory Of Parent-Subsidiary Relationships

Allen Matkins on

Nevada famously limits directors and officers from personal liability.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that Nevada is a "liability free" jurisdiction.  For example, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held that...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Corporates and Dealmakers Must Prepare For Increased UK Class Action Claims

Latham & Watkins LLP on

While class actions are well established in the US, they are increasingly common in the UK, driven by market volatility, availability of litigation funding, legal reforms, regulatory settlements, and growing scrutiny of...more

Allen Matkins

Judge Finds Demand Futility Is A "Live" Issue

Allen Matkins on

A recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Battaglia addresses whether demand futility is an affirmative defense that must be asserted in an answer or raised in a motion to dismiss.  In re Franklin Wireless, 2024...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Clarity for M&A Practitioners: Proposed DGCL Amendments Bridge the Gap between Recent Delaware Chancery Court Decisions and Market...

The proposed amendments would address recent case law decisions in Activision, Moelis and Crispo that uprooted well-established market practice with respect to the enforceability of certain provisions of stockholder...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Seventh Circuit Decision Outlines Framework To Allow Courts To Evaluate Individual Mootness Fees in Merger Challenge Lawsuits

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Jorge Alcarez, et al. v. Akorn Inc., et al. mapped out one means by which a court may evaluate mootness fees paid to individual shareholders after the voluntary dismissal...more

Mayer Brown

A Matter Of Propriety: Delaware Courts Reject Books-and-Records Demand Driven by Ulterior Motive

Mayer Brown on

Section 220 demands are a commonly used tool for stockholders to gain access to a company’s books and records. Although this provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law vests stockholders with a right of access thereto,...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Requires Compliance With DGCL Provisions Governing Board Negotiation And Board And Stockholder Approval Requirements For...

A&O Shearman on

On February 29, 2024, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion to dismiss claims seeking to invalidate the acquisition of a gaming company (“Target”) by a large technology...more

Mayer Brown

Delaware Chancery Court Invalidates Common Stockholder Agreement Provisions

Mayer Brown on

In the recent decision West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that certain provisions of a stockholder agreement contravened...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Invalidates Stockholder Agreement Provisions That Deprive Board Of Key Decision-Making Powers

A&O Shearman on

On February 23, 2024, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery invalidated a number of significant provisions in a stockholder agreement between a financial institution (the “Company”) and its...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Invalidates Certain Rights in Stockholder Agreement Sidelining Board of Directors

Foley Hoag LLP on

On February 23, 2024, the Court issued an opinion3 invalidating certain provisions of a stockholder agreement, which, in part, contractually constrain the Board’s discretion to exercise control over the business and affairs...more

Troutman Pepper

Delaware Court of Chancery Invalidates Common Governance Rights in Stockholder Agreement

Troutman Pepper on

In West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company, the Delaware Court of Chancery invalidated a set of approval rights contained in a stockholder agreement as facially in conflict with Section 141(a) of the...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Closing the Circle: A Stockholder That Nominates a Board Member Is Not Within the Company’s Circle of Confidentiality or Entitled...

Icahn Partners, LP, et al. v. Francis deSouza, et al. and Illumina, Inc., C.A. No. 2023-1045-PAF, order (Del. Ch. Feb. 19, 2024) - Under Delaware law, corporate directors, who bear responsibility for managing the company...more

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