On February 1, 2024, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision refusing to dismiss stockholder claims against directors and officers of Coinbase Global, Inc. over their sales of...more
On June 27, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a much-anticipated decision addressing the obligations of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company (Disney) in overseeing Disney’s...more
6/30/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Disney ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Florida ,
Gay Rights ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
Earlier today, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an important ruling concluding that two companies with multiple classes of common stock were not required, under the Delaware statute,...more
On March 15, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a rare post-trial decision finding a CEO personally liable for millions of dollars in damages for breaching his fiduciary...more
In an important decision addressing an issue of first impression, the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that corporate officers owe a fiduciary duty of oversight under Delaware law. The case, In re McDonald’s Corporation...more
During an M&A process, the seller and its stockholders may consider whether it would be beneficial to exercise any drag-along rights under its stockholder agreements or equity plans. Drag-along rights generally allow a subset...more
On July 29, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a noteworthy decision confirming the broad application of the "MFW" framework—based on the Delaware Supreme Court's decision in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635...more
On September 20, 2021, the Delaware Supreme Court overruled its 2006 decision in Gentile v. Rossette, eliminating so-called "dual natured" simultaneous direct and derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty. The decision...more
Earlier this week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a significant decision reinforcing Delaware's strong policy favoring private ordering and giving effect to agreements among sophisticated stockholders. The decision...more
Last month, Delaware's new Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick issued a decision largely dismissing challenges to board action after finding that the plaintiff's emails to the board constituted pre-suit litigation demands, and...more
Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a key decision addressing stockholders' rights to access books and records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Because the Supreme Court rarely weighs in on...more
On August 13, 2020, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion, JUUL Labs, Inc. v. Grove, C.A. No. 2020-0005-JTL (Del. Ch. Aug. 13, 2020), holding that a stockholder of a Delaware corporation headquartered in California...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently denied two books and records demands made by stockholders of Facebook, Inc. that sought to investigate alleged wrongdoing surrounding Facebook's executive compensation practices at a...more
In a 137-page post-trial opinion, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that an activist stockholder of PLX Technology (PLX) had acted through a principal who served on the PLX board of...more
10/25/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Sale of Assets ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently addressed important issues concerning the information rights of directors designated by a significant stockholder, as well as a board committee's ability to withhold information from...more
In another significant M&A decision from the New York Supreme Court, the controlling stockholder of a Delaware corporation failed to obtain judicial deference under the so-called "MFW" framework for its merger with the...more
On December 11, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision that will be important for companies looking to implement measures to extend or make changes to dual-class voting structures and for companies with...more
On November 13, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a short but potentially important opinion in Jack Wilkinson v. A. Schulman, Inc., an action to inspect books and records brought under Section 220 of the Delaware...more
On August 1, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an en banc opinion in DFC Global Corporation v. Muirfield Value Partners, L.P., et al., reversing the Delaware Court of Chancery's decision regarding the fair value of DFC...more
On November 30, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated opinion in the stockholder litigation over the sale of Rural/Metro Corporation (Rural). In a unanimous opinion, the court affirmed the Delaware...more
On May 14, 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court issued its decision in In re Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc., S'holder Litig., clarifying that damages claims against independent directors can be dismissed where: (1) an applicable...more
On September 4, 2014, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued two lengthy post-trial opinions, both authored by Vice Chancellor John W. Noble, finding that recapitalization or restructuring transactions did not satisfy the...more