For decades, Delaware courts have encouraged stockholders to use the “tools at hand” — before initiating lawsuits — by obtaining corporations’ books and records through 8 Del. C. § 220 (Section 220). As described in prior...more
12/22/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Enforcement ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholders ,
Standard of Review
The Delaware Court of Chancery’s docket exploded with expedited “broken” deal litigation in 2020, driven by the impact of COVID-19. Beyond pandemic-related merger litigation, stockholder plaintiffs remained focused on claims...more
Consistent with trends in recent years, in 2019 Delaware corporation law largely was shaped by post-closing suits for money damages against directors who had approved mergers and acquisitions. Two Delaware Supreme Court...more
1/24/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Caremark claim ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Independent Directors ,
Inspection Rights ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Oversight Duties ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Void ab initio
Recently, the frequency of stockholder demands to inspect corporate books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law has increased. In turn, the case law concerning Section 220 demands is...more
1/21/2020
/ Activist Investors ,
Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Confidential Documents ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Discovery ,
Document Productions ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Email ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mergers ,
Proxy Contests ,
Scope of Discovery Requests ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
In the recent opinion California State Teachers’ Retirement System v. Alvarez (Walmart), the Delaware Supreme Court addressed the preclusive effect of demand futility decisions rendered by one court on derivative litigation...more
5/29/2018
/ Bribery ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Due Process ,
Intervenors ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Privity of Contract ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Wal-Mart
Over the last few years, three notable Delaware cases — C&J Energy, Corwin and Trulia — have paved the way for a dramatic shift in the deal litigation landscape. In C&J Energy Services, Inc. v. City of Miami General...more
5/29/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Discovery ,
Injunctions ,
Mergers ,
Mootness ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Shareholders ,
Trulia