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Shareholder Litigation Executive Compensation Fiduciary Duty

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

Jones Day

Shareholder Derivative Litigation Concerning Diversity in Corporate Leadership Is an Emerging Trend

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The Situation: A number of shareholder derivative lawsuits in federal court have been filed seeking to hold directors and officers of major companies accountable for alleged failures to uphold their commitment to diversity....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

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Business Judgment Rule Applies to a Board’s Response to Take “All Necessary Actions”

What legal standard applies to assess a corporate board’s refusal to pursue litigation in response to a shareholder’s demand to take “all necessary actions” to correct alleged director misconduct?...more

Troutman Pepper

Hot Topic for 2018 Proxy Season: Director Compensation in Wake of New Delaware Supreme Court Ruling

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In an important recent opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation that certain director compensation decisions would be reviewed under the “entire fairness” standard...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

New Delaware Supreme Court Ruling on Excess Director Compensation: A Return to Formula Plans?

On December 13, 2017, in Re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation ("Bancorp"), the Supreme Court of Delaware held that when stockholders have approved an equity incentive plan that gives the directors discretion to...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Rejects Facebook Stockholder Ratification Argument

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In Espinoza v. Zuckerberg, a stockholder challenged the Facebook board of directors' unanimous approval of a compensation plan for the company's six non-employee directors. The board consisted of eight directors, with only...more

King & Spalding

Know Your Limits! Section 162(m) and Excess Equity Grants

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In the past few years there has been an uptick in stockholder derivative litigation related to equity compensation granted to named executive officers that exceed the plan share limits. The claims against the companies...more

Snell & Wilmer

SEC Update

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PROXY SEASON PREVIEW - Say-on-Pay and Equity Compensation Plans - Although say-on-pay votes are only advisory in the United States, they will likely continue to be a focus for many companies in the upcoming 2014...more

Dechert LLP

Defending Section 162(m) Executive Compensation Derivative Suits in the United States

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Decisions regarding executive compensation fall squarely within the discretion of a public company’s board of directors. Recently, however, plaintiffs’ firms have been trying to invade the board’s purview by bringing...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

"Executive Compensation and Benefits Alert: Annual Meeting Litigation: How to Prepare"

As the 2013 proxy season is now underway, companies should be aware of the recent wave of lawsuits alleging breaches of fiduciary duties by management and directors in connection with compensation-related decisions. These...more

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