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Shareholder Litigation Corporate Officers

Allen Matkins

Is Your Directors And Officers Liability Coverage Illusory?

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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

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

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Court Affirms High Threshold for Breach of Directors' Caremark Duties

Bennett Jones LLP on

In a recent case, Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania (derivatively on behalf of Centene Corporation) v Brinkley (Centene), Delaware's Court of Chancery dismissed “Caremark duty claims”—named after the 1996 case...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

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

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

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

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Courts Confirm High Standard for Breach of Oversight Duty Applies Equally to Officers and Directors

Bennett Jones LLP on

In the United States, corporate directors and, as confirmed by the Delaware Court in McDonald’s Corp. Stockholder Derivative Litigation (McDonald), corporate officers owe, as a subset of their duty of loyalty, a duty to...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Delaware Court Invalidates Stockholder Agreement Governance Provisions

In holding that certain provisions within the stockholder agreement of a Delaware corporation are invalid under the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), the Delaware Court of Chancery has created a framework for...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year in Review

Wilson Sonsini is pleased to present the 2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review. In 2023, the Delaware courts issued many decisions addressing an array of important topics, including director and officer...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

Considerations for D&O Insurance in Light of the Changing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Legal Landscape

Robins Kaplan LLP on

After George Floyd’s death in May 2020, companies (including their directors and officers) are facing increasing liability exposure and scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle relating to diversity, equity, and...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Important Ruling for Multi-Class Companies Concerning Class Votes

On January 17, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a significant decision affirming that the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) does not require companies with multiple classes of common stock to obtain separate...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Lessons For Founders From Sam Altman’s Short-Lived OpenAI Ouster

DarrowEverett LLP on

We’ve all read countless headlines and articles about the removal and swift return of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI over the past several weeks. Simply put, the nonprofit board voted to remove Altman as a result of a...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - December 2023

In this issue, we discuss recent Delaware court developments regarding officer liability, who can recover “lost-premium” damages, and trends in books and records actions, among other topics....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Busted Deals’ and Damages: Court of Chancery Clarifies Who Can Recover ‘Lost-Premium’ Damages

In October 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Court of Chancery addressed an issue of first impression in Crispo v. Musk, C.A. No 2022-0666-KSJM, holding that “a provision purporting to define a target...more

A&O Shearman

Addressing The Enforceability Of Con Ed Provisions In Merger Agreements, Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Petition For...

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On October 31, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued final judgment denying a petition for a mootness fee award to a stockholder—who had previously asserted claims for breach of...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Court Adopts the Caremark Standard for Oversight Claims

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The decision articulates the standard for plaintiffs asserting derivative claims based on an alleged failure of oversight by directors and officers of California companies. Nearly three decades ago in the seminal case In...more

Allen Matkins

Do Corporate Boards Necessarily Breach Their Fiduciary Duties When They Approve Illegal Conduct?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent blog post on the Business Law Prof Blog, Tulane Law professor Ann M. Lipton opined...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Stockholder Demand For Corporation To Supplement Its Section 220 Production With Searches And...

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On August 25, 2023, Magistrate Bonnie W. David of the Delaware Chancery Court issued a post-trial report denying stockholder requests for supplemental productions of emails from Zendesk, Inc. (the “Company”) pursuant to a...more

J.S. Held

Will Derivative Shareholder Litigation Be the New Firing Line for Ensuring Achievement of Corporate Sustainability Goals?

J.S. Held on

Mitigating climate change impacts is becoming a critical business priority, and the pressure to achieve corporate sustainability objectives is mounting as investment-focused regulations continue to drive companies toward...more

Allen Matkins

Can One Shareholder Sue Another Shareholder For Breach Of Contract?

Allen Matkins on

One popular theory of the corporation is that it is a nexus of contracts.  As Frank Easterbrook and Daniel Fischel pithily pronounced "Corporations are enduring (relational) contracts."  F. Easterbrook and D. Fischel, The...more

Allen Matkins

Form Unknown? There's A Statute For That

Allen Matkins on

The California Code of Civil Procedure sets forth the general rules governing the service of summons.  Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 415.10 - 415.95.  Chapter 17 of the General Corporation Law adds to these provisions.  In some...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Officer Exculpation and the Silicon Valley 150

Effective August 1, 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) was amended to permit a Delaware corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Stockholder’s Section 220 Books And Record Demand In Connection With Corporation’s Expression...

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On June 27, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a judgment in favor of a “leading media and entertainment” company with a “substantial presence in Florida” (the “Corporation”),...more

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