Bryan Townsend on Derivative Suit

Chancery Dismisses Double-Derivative Claims for Failure To Plead Demand Futility

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

3/20/2024 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Demand Futility , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation

Chancery Rejects Declining-Percentage Method, Awards $266.7 Million in Attorneys’ Fees for $1 Billion Class Action Settlement

In re Dell Techs. Inc. Class V S'holders Litig., C.A. No. 2018-0816-JTL (Del. Ch. July 31, 2023, revised Aug. 22, 2023) - Stockholders filed class actions in the Court of Chancery challenging the terms of a redemption of a...more

12/11/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Class Action , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholders

Chancery Approves Reduced Fee Award for Derivative Settlement Based on Therapeutic Benefits

Sciabacucchi v. Howley, C.A. No. 2021-0938-LWW (Del. Ch. July 3, 2023) - A stockholder filed a derivative action alleging breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment in connection with a board compensation committee’s...more

11/10/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation

Chancery Grants Single-Member Special Litigation Committee’s Motion To Terminate Derivative Claims

In re Baker Hughes, a GE Company, Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2019-0201-LWW (Del. Ch. Apr. 17, 2023) - After the Court of Chancery made a pleadings stage determination that the demand was futile, a board of directors...more

9/20/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Dismisses Contract, Dissolution, and Direct Claims, But Upholds Derivative Claim for Alleged Transfer of Funds Between...

BET FRX LLC v. Myers, C.A. No. 2019-0894-KSJM (Del. Ch. Apr. 27, 2022) - A minority member of a limited liability company had invested $8 million in the LLC. The LLC owned a majority interest in an entity that held a...more

10/4/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Dissolution , Fiduciary Duty

Chancery Dismisses Derivative Action Arising from $1.2 Billion Stock Sale Based on Plaintiffs’ Failure to Plead Demand Futility

In re Kraft Heinz Co. Deriv. Litig., Cons. C.A. No. 2019-0587-LWW (Del. Ch. Dec. 15, 2021) - The Court of Chancery dismissed an insider-trading action on the grounds that plaintiffs failed to plead that a majority of a...more

3/30/2022 / Breach of Duty , Demand Futility , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Delaware Supreme Court Overrules Gentile, Resolving Tension in Legal Test To Determine Whether a Claim Is Direct or Derivative

Brookfield Asset Mgmt., Inc. v. Rosson, No. 406, 2020 (Del. Sept. 20, 2021) - Seeking to bring clarity to the issue of whether a claim is direct or derivative—a potentially outcome-determinative issue—the Delaware Supreme...more

12/17/2021 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholders

Chancery Dismisses Derivative Claims Alleging Insider Trading and Misleading Disclosures for Failure to Plead Demand Futility

In re Zimmer Biomet Hldgs., Inc. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 2019-0455-LWW (Del. Ch. Aug. 25, 2021) - Under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, a stockholder-plaintiff may only bring a derivative suit on behalf of a company if the...more

10/20/2021 / Breach of Duty , Demand Futility , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Insider Trading

Court of Chancery Stays Action for Violation of Rule against Claim Splitting Pending Resolution of a Duplicative Federal Action

Goureau v. Lemonis, C.A. No. 2020-0486-MTZ (Del. Ch. Mar. 30, 2021) Delaware follows the modern “transactional” view of claim splitting, which bars a plaintiff from bringing bring duplicative proceedings in different courts...more

4/29/2021 / Corporate Dissolution , Derivative Suit , Dissolution , Limited Liability Company (LLC) , Operating Agreements

Chancery Questions Utility of Aronson Test, Dismisses Derivative Suit of Facebook Stockholder for Failure To Allege Demand...

United Food and Comm. Workers Union v. Zuckerberg, C.A. No. 2018-0671-JTL (Del. Ch. Oct. 26, 2020) - In its recent decision in United Food and Comm. Workers Union v. Zuckerberg, the Court of Chancery discussed the legal...more

12/3/2020 / Breach of Duty , Demand Futility , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Pleadings , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Finds “Constellation” of Personal and Professional Relations Between Directors and Controlling Stockholder Excuses Demand

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

10/17/2019 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Controlling Stockholders , Demand Futility , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation

Chancery Declines to Dismiss Derivative Claim Challenging Compensation of Goldman Sachs Directors

Stein v. Blankfein, C.A. No. 2017-0354-SG (Del. Ch. May 31, 2019). Recently, the Delaware Supreme Court held in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, 177 A.3d 1208 (Del. 2017) that stockholder approval of...more

7/5/2019 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Duty of Loyalty , Fiduciary Duty

Bryan Townsend

Morris James LLP

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