Nonprofit Basics: Director Duties and Best Practices for the Typical Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 167: Listen and Learn -- Direct and Derivative Actions (Corporations)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 124: Listen and Learn -- Duty of Loyalty (Corporations)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 282: Listen and Learn -- Duty of Loyalty (Corporations)
In Joseph Lawrence Ligos v. Isramco, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2020-0435-SG (Del. Ch. Nov. 30, 2022), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss a shareholder class action complaint alleging that the members of...more
On November 30, 2022, Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss claims asserted against directors who served as members of the special committee (the “Special Committee”) of...more
Harcum v. Lovoi, C.A. No. 2020-0398-PAF (Del. Ch. Jan. 3, 2022) - In Harcum, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed all claims brought in a stockholder suit alleging fiduciary breaches in connection with the $1 billion...more
In one of the first decisions to analyze fiduciary duty claims in the context of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, the Delaware Chancery Court recently sustained the legal viability of a putative...more
Special committees, by design, are created to address conflicts and to insulate the board of directors from liability for the very conflicts that may invite judicial scrutiny of the fairness of the board’s decision. A...more
In re Pattern Energy Grp. Inc. Stockholders Litig., C.A. No. 2020-0357-MTZ (Del. Ch. May 6, 2021) - This decision mostly denying a motion to dismiss examines several important issues in post-closing M&A fiduciary duty...more
In Firefighters’ Pension System of the City of Kansas City, Missouri Trust v. Presidio, Inc., Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed claims against directors of Presidio, Inc. (Presidio) and...more
This is the eighth article in our series on selling the family business. Our previous articles include advance planning, preliminary diligence, marketing, letters of intent, indemnification provisions, backstopping the deal,...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery’s docket exploded with expedited “broken” deal litigation in 2020, driven by the impact of COVID-19. Beyond pandemic-related merger litigation, stockholder plaintiffs remained focused on claims...more
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
Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law affords stockholders a qualified right to inspect a corporation's books and records. A Section 220 inspection is a powerful stockholder right, and indeed, the Delaware...more
IMPACT OF EQUIFAX, FACEBOOK SETTLEMENTS - Health care industry boards should give close attention to the governance implications of recent privacy settlements entered into by Equifax and Facebook. Their unique facts...more
On June 21, 2019, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion addressing a number of significant issues relating to the proper conduct of an M&A process. In denying all...more
On April 1, 2019, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed for lack of demand a stockholder derivative suit against directors of Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) that asserted breach of...more
Ellis v. Gonzalez, C.A. No. 2017-0342-SG (Del. Ch. July 10, 2018) - The pre-suit demand on the board requirement for derivative litigation usually is not excused solely by a sufficiently pled disclosure violation....more
Several recent decisions applying Delaware law offer helpful insight about the impact that activist investor involvement has on board decision-making leading to a transaction and how those decisions will be reviewed by the...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2017 and April 2017. The cases address developing trends in class actions, ERISA, fiduciary duties,...more
Kilpatrick Townsend partner Kandace Watson and Ron Zollman, co-chairs of San Diego’s Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Technology & Licensing Roundtable, shared advice on pre- and post-merger challenges during their...more
Our Delaware Corporate and Alternative Entity Law attorneys closely followed the opinions coming from Delaware’s Supreme Court and Court of Chancery. Our 2016 Year in Review is a collection of brief summaries of selected...more
Chelsea Therapeutics: Post-Closing Bad Faith Claim a ‘Rare Bird’ in Delaware Absent Allegations of Self-Interestedness or Lack of Independence - In In re Chelsea Therapeutics International LTD Stockholders Litigation,...more
In a stockholder challenge to a going-private merger by a controlling stockholder to buy out minority stockholders, the operative standard of review is ordinarily the most rigorous judicial review, entire fairness. To obtain...more
Under the recent Corwin decision, a fully-informed vote by uncoerced and disinterested stockholders to approve a merger invokes the business judgment rule and effectively precludes almost any claim the merger was improper. ...more
This is another in a series of decisions dealing with the allegation that a minority stockholder controlled a deal through its control of a majority of the board of directors....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
A trio of opinions from the Delaware Supreme Court, each authored by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr., has reaffirmed Delaware’s deference to the business judgment of disinterested corporate decision-makers and restored...more