Eckert v. Hightower, C.A. No. 2024-0569-MTZ (Del. Ch. Mar. 24, 2025) -
A board of directors approved compensation packages for the company’s CEO, who also was its controlling stockholder. The CEO was a member of the...more
Clem v. Skinner, et al., C.A. 2021-0240-LWW (Del. Ch. Feb. 19, 2024) -
This Caremark decision involved the retail pharmacy company, Walgreens, and concerned billing practices for a particular insulin pen product that gave...more
City of Hialeah Emps. Ret. Sys. v. Insight Venture Partners, C.A. No. 2022-0846-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 28, 2023) -
A venture capital fund invested in two different entities. One of the entities then acquired the other. In the...more
City of Coral Springs Police Officers' Pension Plan v. Dorsey, C.A. No. 2022-0091-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 9, 2023) -
A terrible business decision does not ensure the Court of Chancery will sustain a derivative claim. A...more
Schoenmann v. Irvin, C.A. 2021-0326-SG (Del. Ch. Jun. 2, 2022) -
After the plaintiff filed his direct and derivative claims in April 2021, the defendants – the company and its controller – circulated in June 2021 a written...more
City of Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System v. Hamrock, C.A. No. 2021-0370-KSJM (Del. Ch. June 30, 2022) -
Stockholder plaintiff filed a derivative suit on behalf of an energy company alleging that certain of the...more
Our 2021 Top 10 list summarizes decisions from the Delaware courts likely to affect business transactions and business litigation going forward. Our criteria for selection are that the decision either meaningfully changed...more
In Re BGC Partners, Inc. Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0722-LWW (Del. Ch. Sep. 20, 2021) -
A director protected by an exculpatory provision is entitled to dismissal in a breach of fiduciary duty action...more
Richardson v. Clark, C.A. No. 2019-1015-SG (Del. Ch. Dec. 31, 2020) -
Under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, a derivative plaintiff’s must make a demand on the corporation’s board of directors unless the plaintiff can plead...more
In re Metlife Inc. Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2019-0452-SG (Del. Ch. Aug. 17, 2020) -
Shareholders seeking relief for alleged harm to a Delaware corporation must comply with Delaware’s pre-suit demand...more
Elburn v. Albanese, C.A. No. 2019-0774-JRS (Del. Ch. Apr. 21, 2020) -
Finding that the stockholder plaintiff (the “Plaintiff”) had satisfied the Rule 23.1 “with particularity” pleading standard, the Court of Chancery...more
Buckley Family Trust v. McCleary, C.A. No. 2018-0903-AGB (Del. Ch. Mar. 31, 2020).
This case involved a minority stockholder in a Subchapter S corporation seeking relief as a result of its dissatisfaction with management’s...more
In re LendingClub Corp., Consol. C.A. No. 12984-VCM (Del. Ch. Oct. 31, 2019).
Delaware law sets a high bar to sufficiently plead a Caremark claim for failure of board oversight, especially when the plaintiff must satisfy...more
A derivative claim for harm befalling a corporation belongs to the corporation itself. Under the state’s board-centric model of corporate governance, Delaware law empowers the board of directors to control such claims,...more
In re BGC Partners, Inc. Derivative Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0722-AGB (Del. Ch. Sept. 30, 2019).
A stockholder plaintiff seeking to bring a derivative claim on behalf of a corporation must first demand authorization...more
Rojas v. Ellison, C.A. No. 2018-0755-AGB (Del. Ch. July 29, 2019).
As this Court of Chancery decision explains, the Delaware standard for imposing oversight liability on a board of directors under a Caremark theory is...more
Marchand v. Barnhill, No. 533, 2018 (Del. June 19, 2019).
As this decision illustrates, while Delaware law imposes a high bar for pleading demand futility and fiduciary oversight claims under what is known as a Caremark...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
Lenois v. Lawal, C.A. No. 11963-VCMR (Nov. 7, 2017) -
This case illustrates the power of well-functioning special committee to diffuse the potentially corruptive influence of a self-interested controller on a transaction....more
This is an interesting decision because it applies the demand rules in a derivative case to an odd situation — when some but not all of the board members have changed between when the challenged conduct occurred and when the...more