It’s not every day that New York’s highest court considers a question impacting the business divorce cases that we typically litigate. And even when an interesting business divorce issue does make its way up to Albany, it’s...more
In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court clarified the proper standard to apply to a non-freeze-out merger transaction involving a controlling stockholder. Litigators who practice in the Delaware Court of Chancery are...more
In the context of mergers and acquisitions, an acquisition target’s qualified retirement plans, health plans, executive compensation arrangements, and benefit programs (referred to collectively as “benefit programs”) can all...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery issued its decision in In re Tesla Motors, Inc., on April 27, 2022, rejecting claims that Tesla, Inc. CEO Elon Musk breached his fiduciary duties to Tesla’s stockholders as a director and an...more
The recently filed complaint in Franchi v. Multiplan Corp., et al. is one to watch because it alleges breach of fiduciary duties by the directors and controlling shareholders of Churchill Capital Corp. III (Company), a...more
The New York Court of Appeals’ 2012 opinion in Pappas v Tzolis, decided in the wake and spirit of that court’s rulings the year before in the Centro Empresarial v America Movil and Arfa v Zamir cases, raised the bar for...more
On January 29, 2021, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery refused to dismiss a shareholder class action stemming from the 2019, $2.2 billion sale of Presidio, Inc., an IT solutions provider specializing in...more
Below is our Quarterly Corporate / M&A Decisions Update for decisions in Q4 2020. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. Brief summaries of...more
Three weeks ago, I wrote about the Bak v Rostek case in Brooklyn Supreme Court addressing the duty to disclose third-party offers amidst buy-out negotiations between co-owners. ...more
This is our Quarterly Corporate / M&A Decisions Update for decisions in Q3 2020. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. Brief summaries of...more
This past June, autonomous vehicle technology startup Zoox agreed to be acquired by Amazon for a whopping $1.3 billion. Time for the common stockholders to pop the champagne, right? Not exactly, according to a complaint...more
In Re Homefed Corporation Stockholder Litigation arose from a transaction in which Jefferies Financial Group Inc., the 70% stockholder of HomeFed Corporation, acquired the rest of the shares of the company in July 2019 by...more
City of Fort Myers General § Employees’ Pension Fund v Haley, which was commenced in the Delaware Court of Chancery, grew out of the merger of equals between Towers Watson & Co. and Willis Group Holdings Public Limited...more
Distressed companies can be attractive acquisition targets, as their values often reflect the difficulties they face. It is not hard to imagine that the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 will lead to 1. an unprecedented wave...more
During economic downturns, private technology companies often seek emergency funding from existing VC and growth equity investors. These financings, sometimes called “inside rounds,” create conflicts of interest for boards...more
After years of sky-high valuations, private equity funds and strategics will have ample opportunity to buy technology companies at a discount in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. This article highlights the unique...more
Morrison v. Berry considers Plaintiff’s claims for damages following the purchase of a grocery-store chain, The Fresh Market, Inc. (“Fresh Market” or the “Company”) by Apollo investment entities. The Plaintiff was a former...more
2018 M&A Numbers - Following 2017’s market decline, overall M&A volume trended in a positive direction in 2018. While the almost 20,000 transactions closed globally in 2018 did represent a 15 percent drop from the previous...more
The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that group health plans provide summaries of benefits and coverage (“SBCs”) to applicants and enrollees at various times is not new. Nevertheless, because of the steep penalties for...more
On August 18, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted defendants’ motion to dismiss a class action brought by former minority stockholders of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (“MSLO”) against Martha Stewart and...more
On November 30, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Chancery decision holding a financial advisor liable for almost $76 million in damages for aiding and abetting corporate directors in breaches of fiduciary...more
Investment bankers seeking to profit as both adviser to the seller and financier to the buyer in corporate sales processes have faced increased scrutiny by Delaware courts over the last few years. In a highly-publicized 2011...more
In a recent decision, Chen v. Howard-Anderson, the Delaware Chancery Court once again questioned the reasonableness of how a board conducted the sale of a company when it permitted stockholder claims to go to trial....more