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Shareholder Litigation Entire Fairness Standard

Goodwin

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Boards Must Satisfy the MFW Framework in Controller Transactions to Obtain Business Judgment...

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In 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court held in Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”) that a court will apply the entire fairness standard of review to freeze-out merger transactions between a controlled corporation and its...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

M&A in Brief: Q1 2024

In a letter ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court held that where neither the target nor the acquiror was a Delaware entity, the transaction documents between the parties could not confer jurisdiction in the Chancery Court...more

Venable LLP

Fiduciary Liability Limitations Under Nevada Law Trigger Entire Fairness Review of Conversion from Delaware Due to Controlling...

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The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Palkon v. Maffei, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0449-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), determined that a reduction in the liability exposure of a fiduciary due to the conversion of a Delaware...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Rescinds Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Compensation Package in Cautionary Tale About Director Independence...

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On January 30, 2024, the Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the $55.8 billion compensation plan that Tesla, Inc.’s board of directors had granted to Tesla’s well-known CEO, Elon Musk, finding that the...more

Fishman Haygood LLP

A Brief Look at Direct SPAC Cases

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Special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) have been in the litigation spotlight recently. As SPAC disputes play out in courts nationwide, one especially interesting field of play is in the Delaware Chancery courts where...more

Morris James LLP

Controlling Stockholder Avoids Liability Despite Overreach Into Special Committee Brokered-Settlement

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Triggering Delaware’s entire fairness review in stockholder litigation was once considered outcome determinate, but that view has waned. Numerous decisions have shown that defendants can overcome the unified fair process and...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Upholds Tesla's 2016 Acquisition of SolarCity Under Entire Fairness Test

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On June 6, 2023, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Karen L. Valihura, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s April 27, 2022, opinion in In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation....more

Hogan Lovells

Manti v. Carlyle: Allegations of rushed private equity exit trigger entire fairness sale scrutiny - Corporate / M&A Decisions...

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In Manti Holdings, LLC v. Carlyle Group Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0657-SG (Del. Ch. June 3, 2022), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that minority investor claims could proceed against a private equity firm, Carlyle, and related...more

Hogan Lovells

In re Tesla: fair price may ameliorate procedural defects under entire fairness review - Corporate / M&A Decisions update series

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Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation arises out of Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity, a market leader in manufacturing and installing solar energy generation systems. On two occasions in 2015 and 2016, Elon Musk suggested to...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Reemphasizes Importance of Properly Handling Board Conflicts in Ruling for Elon Musk in SolarCity Case

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On April 28, 2022, Vice Chancellor Slights of the Delaware Chancery Court issued a verdict for the defense in In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, a long-running derivative lawsuit challenging the 2016 acquisition...more

Opportune LLP

Should SPACs Take A Page From The MLP Playbook?

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SPAC sponsors, investors, advisors, and (most keenly) directors are asking questions following a Delaware court’s denial in January of the defendants’ request for dismissal in the MultiPlan Corp. shareholder litigation. Those...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Despite Last Year’s Decline in Filings, Securities Litigation Will Likely Pick Up in 2022 Due to Plaintiffs’ Continued Focus on...

Takeaways - Despite a decline in securities class action filings in 2021, we saw a spike in SPAC-related lawsuits and continued activity in event-driven suits focused on issues of cybersecurity, the pandemic and...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Delaware Court Applies Entire Fairness Standard to MultiPlan de-SPAC

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The decision adopts enhanced scrutiny of director fiduciary duties for de-SPAC transactions, but suggests dismissal may be appropriate when stockholders exercise redemption rights on a fully informed basis. On January 3,...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Issues First Decision Addressing Directors’ Fiduciary Duties in a De-SPAC Merger

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The Delaware Court of Chancery addressed for the first time fundamental precepts of Delaware law in the context of a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) on January 3, 2021. In In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders...more

Jones Day

Delaware Redemption Actions—A New Frontier in SPAC Litigation?

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The Delaware Court of Chancery's application of the "entire fairness" standard in In re MultiPlan Stockholders Litigation is an important development for SPACs incorporated in Delaware, and it could result in more...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Applies Entire Fairness Review in Novel SPAC Lawsuit

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A year ago, as the SPAC wave continued to build, we wrote that lawsuits challenging de-SPAC transactions would likely pose a question that had thus far received little attention from courts or commentators: is a de-SPAC...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

Delaware Court of Chancery Allows deSPAC Litigation to Proceed Applying “Entire Fairness” Standard

On January 3, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion denying motions to dismiss in In re Multiplan Corp. Stockholders Litigation, a stockholder action arising out of the completed business combination for...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

SPACs & Entire Fairness: What Standard Of Review Applies To The de-SPACing Transaction

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While litigation against special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) has been historically rare, the increase in SPAC offerings and transactions portends increased litigation, particularly with respect to a SPAC’s...more

Troutman Pepper

Delaware Standards of Review

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In the context of an M&A transaction, practitioners are routinely left to navigate the various standards of review that are applied by the Delaware courts to evaluate whether a Delaware corporation’s directors have complied...more

Jones Day

Chancery Court Requires Entire Fairness Review of Tesla CEO Compensation

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The Background: A shareholder challenged an extraordinary and extremely lucrative incentive-based compensation package awarded by Tesla to its chair, CEO, and controlling shareholder, claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. ...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

Dechert LLP

Electricity in the Air: Court Decides that Stockholder Ratification Not Enough to Insulate Tesla CEO’s $55.8 Billion Compensation...

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The Delaware Chancery Court rejected an attempt by Tesla’s Board of Directors to dismiss a challenge to CEO Elon Musk’s “extraordinary” 2018 compensation package. Because Musk is also Tesla’s controlling stockholder, the...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Delaware Court Of Chancery Reaffirms Entire Fairness Standard In Director Compensation

On May 31, 2019, in Stein v. Blankfein, et. al., the Delaware Court of Chancery reaffirmed the Delaware Supreme Court’s holding in In re: Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation that the “entire fairness” standard...more

Snell & Wilmer

Director Compensation Update

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The following is an update to an important Delaware case relating to the applicable standard of review for challenged actions involving the setting of director compensation. ...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Applies Corwin To Dismiss Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claims, Finding Allegations Of A Controlling...

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On March 20, 2019, Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed class action claims asserted by former shareholders of NCI, Inc. against its former directors for breach of fiduciary duty in...more

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