News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Shareholders Business Judgment Rule

BCLP

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

BCLP on

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

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Canadian Mergers & Acquisitions: A Guide for Investment Banks, Bidders and Boards, 10th edition

Davies’ Canadian Mergers & Acquisitions guide draws on our substantial cross-border M&A experience to offer guidance on both the legal framework and practical aspects of Canadian mergers and acquisitions, including critical...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

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

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Clears Musk of Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

Goodwin on

On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more

Freeman Law

Fiduciary Duties of the Board of Directors in Texas

Freeman Law on

A corporation operates through its board of directors. All corporate powers must be exercised by or under the direction of the board. In Texas, the Texas Business Organizations Code (TBOC) provides certain provisions...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review: 2020

Morris James LLP on

This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year. Our criteria for selection are that the decision either meaningfully changed...more

Winstead PC

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

Winstead PC on

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

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Denies Motion to Dismiss in Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit Related to Mindbody Inc.'s Billion Dollar...

Goodwin on

Delaware Court of Chancery Denies Motion to Dismiss in Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit Related to Mindbody Inc.’s Billion Dollar Merger with Vista Equity Partners; Second Circuit Unanimously Affirms Lower Court’s Decision...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

A Brief Response Regarding Stakeholder Governance

The recently published “The Friedman Essay and the True Purpose of the Business Corporation” defends a view of stakeholder governance that reflects the following two basic flaws...more

Perkins Coie

PIPE Transactions: Key Considerations for Issuers and Investors

Perkins Coie on

During uncertain times, public companies may find themselves in need of additional capital, but a traditional follow-on underwritten public offering may be out of reach or considered too risky. Alternative ways to access the...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Stockholders Versus Stakeholders — Cutting the Gordian Knot

Directors of most for-profit U.S. corporations have long considered the corporation’s relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the communities in which they operate — sometimes referred to as “stakeholders” — in...more

Bennett Jones LLP

COVID-19 Considerations for Directors

Bennett Jones LLP on

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The ramifications of COVID-19 are being experienced worldwide, with President Trump suspending all travel from Europe, and even the NBA...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Importance of Full Disclosure

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

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

Morris James LLP

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

Morris James LLP on

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

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

What's New in Corporate Governance and Securities Law - October 18, 2019

Corporate Governance and Securities Law Developments - Directors Can Be Held Liable for Failure to Oversee “Mission Critical” Regulatory Compliance - On October 1, the Delaware Court of Chancery refused to dismiss a...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

N.C. Business Court Declines To Adopt Rule That A Minority Shareholder Exercising “Actual Control” Could Have Fiduciary Duty To...

Fox Rothschild LLP on

The Business Court sorted through the drama of an affiliated outsider who wanted to buy a company, settled for half and became an insider, and then allegedly used that perch to benefit himself and his family in W. Avalon...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Merger Challenge Concerning Board’s Delegation of Merger Negotiations and Management’s Undisclosed Compensation...

Morris James LLP on

In re Towers Watson & Co. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2018-0132-KSJM (Del. Ch. July 25, 2019). The ultimate responsibility for considering a merger falls on the board to carry out consistent with each directors’...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

The First Department Rules that Plaintiff Failed to Allege an Actionable Fiduciary Duty Claim

Last month, the First Department in Madison Sullivan Partners LLC v. PMG Sullivan St., LLC, 2019 N.Y. Slip Op. 04460 (June 6, 2019), affirmed the decision of former Commercial Division Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich that...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Corwin Defense Based on Proxy Omissions and Sustains Claims Against Financial Advisor

Morris James LLP on

Chester Cty. Emps.’ Ret. Fund v. KCG Holdings, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0421-KSJM (Del. Ch. June 21, 2019). Under Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC, 125 A.3d 304 (Del. 2015), Delaware courts generally will dismiss...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Social Responsibility and Enlightened Shareholder Primacy: Views From the Courtroom and Boardroom

There is an ongoing debate about the role that publicly traded for-profit business corporations should play in addressing a broad range of problems confronting our world today. Many issues fall under the ESG label — meaning...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Explains the Ab Initio Requirement of MFW

Morris James LLP on

Flood v. Synutra Int’l, Inc., C.A. No. 101, 2018 (Del. Oct. 9, 2018) - Under Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014), commonly referred to as MFW, a controller may gain the benefit of business judgment review...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Applies MFW To Stockholder Challenge To An All-Stock Transaction With Allegedly Controlling...

A&O Shearman on

On July 20, 2018, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed a stockholder challenge to an all-stock business combination between Earthstone Energy, Inc. (“Earthstone”) and Bold Energy III...more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Explains When Claim Is Direct And Survives A Merger

Morris James LLP on

In re Straight Path Communications Inc. Consolidated Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2017-0486-SG (Del. Ch. June 25, 2018) - When a merger closes, stockholders of the acquired company generally lose standing to pursue...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Commercial Division Enjoins Xerox-Fujifilm Deal Resulting In Resignation of Xerox’s CEO

On April 27, 2018, Justice Barry Ostrager of the Commercial Division enjoined a no-cash transaction that would have granted Fujifilm (“Fuji”) a 50.1% controlling interest in Xerox. ...more

39 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide