In 2024, Delaware courts continued to address important areas of corporate law, particularly regarding controlling stockholders. Several of those high-profile decisions were decided at the trial level and are now on appeal....more
12/30/2024
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Board of Directors ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Executive Compensation ,
Nominal Damages ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Ratification ,
Shareholders
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court of Delaware, en banc, issued an important decision in Kellner v. AIM Immunotech Inc.,1 which arose from a challenge in the Delaware Court of Chancery involving advance notice bylaws that...more
In this issue, we discuss Delaware court developments, including the first-ever dismissal of a SPAC disclosure complaint, as well as rulings pertaining to financial advisor conflict and disclosure law, state laws involving...more
6/26/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Mergers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued two opinions weighing in on the scope of disclosures involving board advisors in connection with M&A transactions that warrant close attention. In both rulings — each written en banc...more
6/26/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Buyers ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Proxy Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Sellers
In January 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a groundbreaking opinion in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation that paved the way for SPAC stockholders to bring direct breach of...more
6/25/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Securities Litigation ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
On May 31, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an important decision addressing several key areas of Delaware law related to merger litigation. The opinion indicates that the court will continue to closely scrutinize...more
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
12/27/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Misappropriation ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Trade Secrets
On September 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. of the Court of Chancery delivered a decision finding that the president of a plaintiff company and a second business the president had formed and served...more
In a case of first impression, the Court of Chancery held recently that officers, like directors, owe their companies a duty of oversight, although the scope of that will vary with their responsibilities. Two other Chancery...more
6/12/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
CEOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Data Preservation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Oversight ,
Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Oracle ,
Oversight Duties ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Revlon ,
Shareholders ,
Spoliation
Delaware courts have historically been reluctant to allow Caremark (or “board oversight”) claims to gain traction, describing such a claim as “possibly the most difficult theory in corporation law upon which a plaintiff might...more
12/27/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Popular ,
Red Flags Rule ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholders ,
Standard of Review
In this issue, we discuss recent Delaware court decisions further developing the bounds around books and records demands. Other articles focus on recent developments concerning advance notice bylaws and the standards used by...more
12/21/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Enforcement ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
Standard of Review
Takeaways -
The Delaware Supreme Court simplified the pleadings-stage test applied to derivative suits where no demand has first been made on the board.
Disputes about stockholder books-and-records requests focus...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently issued two opinions — Richardson v. Clark (MoneyGram) and Fisher v. Sanborn (LendingClub) — that dismissed stockholder derivative claims for breach of directors’ oversight duties...more
Several recent Delaware decisions have analyzed allegations attempting to plead breach of fiduciary duty claims against executive directors even though the underlying transaction was approved by a...more
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including recent trends in Delaware corporate disclosure law, the Delaware Supreme Court’s important ruling in Marchand v....more
11/20/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Officers ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fair Valuation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Good Faith ,
Market Price ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Mootness Fee Applications ,
Omissions ,
Oversight Committee ,
Oversight Duties ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Votes
On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more
12/20/2017
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Reversal ,
Self-Interest ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Standard of Review
Recent Delaware Supreme Court and Court of Chancery cases have continued to refine the impact and requirements of Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC, in which the Delaware Supreme Court held that the business judgment rule...more
5/8/2017
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Irrebuttable Presumptions ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
Post-Closing Money Damages ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Standard of Review
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including the Court of Chancery’s clarification of its evolving views about disclosure-based deal litigation settlements;...more
5/21/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Buyouts ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Plainly Material Standard ,
Pleadings ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Demands ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Standard of Review
A trio of opinions from the Delaware Supreme Court, each authored by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr., has reaffirmed Delaware’s deference to the business judgment of disinterested corporate decision-makers and restored...more
10/23/2015
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Due Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctions ,
Judicial Review ,
Mergers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleadings ,
Revlon ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Vacated