This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year 2018.
The cases selected either meaningfully changed Delaware law or provided...more
Inter-Local Pension Fund GCC/IBT v. Calgon Carbon Corp., C.A. No. 2017-0910-MTZ (Del. Ch. Jan. 25, 2019).
It is sometimes fair to characterize plaintiff-side representative litigation in the corporate context as...more
KT4 Partners LLC v. Palantir Technologies Inc., No. 281, 2018 (Del. Jan. 29, 2019) (Strine, Chief Justice).
Two prevailing questions for books and records inspections under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation...more
Schnatter v. Papa John’s Int’l, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0542-AGB (Del. Ch. Jan. 15, 2019).
As a general matter, under Section 220 of the DGCL, directors of a Delaware corporation enjoy the right to virtually unfettered access...more
Brown v. Kellar, C.A. No. 2018-0687-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 21, 2018) -
Control disputes, like those under Section 225 of the DGCL, are summary, narrow proceedings limited to the issues regarding title to office. The Court of...more
Sciabacucchi v. Salzberg, C.A. No. 2017-0031-JTL (Del. Ch. Dec. 19, 2018) -
Delaware law permits a Delaware corporation to include a forum-selection provision in its certificate of incorporation governing all “internal...more
Klein v. H.I.G. Capital LLC, C.A. No. 2017-0862-AGB (Del. Ch. Dec. 19, 2018) -
Under the Delaware Supreme Court’s Gentile decision, a claim may be dual-natured, meaning partially derivative on behalf of the corporation and...more
In re Xura Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 12608-VCS (Del. Ch. Dec. 10, 2018) -
Lately, the Delaware Supreme Court has given great weight to the deal price in appraisal cases. As a result, plaintiffs have put a greater...more
In re Fitbit Inc. Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2017-0402-JRS (Del. Ch. Dec. 14, 2018) -
Delaware law recognizes a claim for breach of fiduciary duty based on insider trading under the Brophy decision....more
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
Norman v. Elkin, C.A. No. 06-005-LPS (D. Del. Sept. 4, 2018) -
Litigation seeking to inspect a corporation’s records under Section 220 of the DGCL might toll the statute of limitations for certain claims under the right...more
In re Appraisal of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc., C.A. No. 12736-VCL (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2018) -
It is common and accepted practice for parties in Court of Chancery litigation to enter into a stipulated order governing the...more
Mesirov v. Enbridge Energy Company, C.A. No. 11314-VCS (Del. Ch. Aug. 29, 2018) -
This is the latest decision in a long-running saga in the master limited partnership (MLP) context involving Enbridge Energy....more
Charles Almond Trustee v. Glenhill Advisors LLC, C.A. No. 10477-CB (Del. Ch. Aug. 17, 2018)-
Sections 204 and 205 of the DGCL permit corporations to cure and validate defective corporate acts under the right circumstances....more
CSH Theatres L.L.C. v. Nederlander of San Francisco Associates, C.A. No. 9380-VCMR (Del. Ch. July 31, 2018) -
This drama arises from a dispute involving the Curran Theatre in San Francisco. The decision mostly deals with...more
In re Twitter Inc. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 18-62-VAC-MPT (D. Del. July 23, 2018) -
Several Court of Chancery decisions discuss the appropriateness of staying a derivative action pending a related...more
Olenik v. Lodzinski, C.A. No. 2017-0414-JRS (Del. Ch. July 20, 2018) -
Transactions between a Delaware company and its controlling stockholder usually are subject to rigorous entire fairness review. But, under the MFW...more
A&J Capital, Inc. v. Law Office of Krug, C.A. No. 22018-0240-JRS (Del. Ch. July 18, 2018) -
This decision holds that, absent contrary language in an LLC operating agreement, members do not need to provide notice and an...more
Barnes v. Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0735-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 18, 2018) -
An investor seeking books and records for the purpose of investigating wrongdoing or mismanagement must establish a “credible basis”...more
In re CBS Corporation, C.A. No. 2018-0342-AGB (Del. Ch. July 13, 2018) -
It is well settled that members of the board of directors are entitled to essentially unfettered access to the corporation’s records to carry out...more
Basho Technologies Holdco B LLC v. Georgetown Basho Investors LLC, C.A. No. 11802-VCL (Del. Ch. July 6, 2018) -
This notable decision issued by the Court of Chancery holds an investment fund and its manager liable for over...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
Morrison v. Berry, No. 445, 2017 (Del. July 9, 2018) -
Corwin holds that approval of a transaction by a fully-informed, uncoerced majority of the disinterested stockholders invokes the deferential business judgment...more
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
CertiSign Holding Inc. v. Kulikovsky / Kulikovsky v. CertiSign Holding Inc., C.A. No. 12055-VCS (Del. Ch. June 7, 2018) -
When a corporation accidentally issues defective stock or takes some other defective corporate act,...more