Joseph Leonard at Morris James LLP

Rare Discovery and Bankruptcy Opinion from the Third Circuit

The Third Circuit recently clarified that the unsealing of confidential documents subject to protective order in bankruptcy cases is governed by § 107 of the Bankruptcy Code, rather than the common law....more

4/29/2025 / Antitrust Litigation , Appeals , Bankruptcy Code , Chapter 11 , Confidential Information

Mentorship and the Evolving Practice of Law

The practice of law requires the synthesis of law, regulation, and judicial holdings into cohesive legal advice. The best way to develop skill is under the guidance of a more experienced attorney, as reflected by the American...more

2/20/2025 / Artificial Intelligence , Career Development , Law Practice Management , Legal Ethics , Legal Technology , Mentors , Professional Development , Young Lawyers

Court of Chancery Finds Class Counsel’s Litigation Funding Agreement is Discoverable

Burkhart v. Genworth Fin., Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0691-NAC (Del. Ch. Aug. 21, 2024). The rise in litigation funding brings a predictable follow-on question: Are litigation funding agreements protected as work product, or...more

2/7/2025 / Class Action , Class Members , Consumer Litigation , Contract Terms , Disclosure Requirements , Discovery , Insurance Industry , Litigation Funding

Failure to Maintain Legal Hold Leads to Spoliation, Sanctions, and Fee Shifting in Delaware Superior Court CCLD

Huntsman Int'l, LLC v. Benelux, C.A. No. N17C-11-242 MAA CCLD (Del. Super. Ct. Aug. 13, 2024). In the age of big data, discovery can extend beyond traditional documents and communications to myriad tools and databases....more

2/6/2025 / Complex Litigation , Data Management , Data Preservation , Discovery , Electronically Stored Information , Fee-Shifting , Legal Technology , Litigation Strategies , Sanctions , Spoliation

Chancery Finds Egregious Conduct in Books and Records Action Justifying Fee-Shifting Against Corporation

PVH Polymath Venture Holdings Ltd. v. TAG Fintech Inc., C.A. No. 2023-0502-BWD (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2024) - Under the “bad faith” exception to the American Rule, Delaware courts will consider shifting fees when aggressive...more

5/24/2024 / Board of Directors , Books & Records , Fee-Shifting , Section 220 Request , Shareholders

A.I. Enthusiasm May Outpace Current Application, But Not For Long

The topic of Artificial Intelligence dominated both the popular and professional landscapes for the last year, exemplified by the release and subsequent downloads of the generative A.I. program ChatGPT, resulting in well...more

3/22/2024 / Artificial Intelligence , Discovery , e-Discovery Professionals , Electronically Stored Information , Legal Technology , Machine Learning , Technology-Assisted Review

Generative A.I. Tools in eDiscovery

ChatGPT rolled out to the public in November 2022, and “Generative A.I.” has captured the public's imagination in the 15 months since the popular program and others like it became available....more

2/29/2024 / Artificial Intelligence , Discovery , e-Discovery Professionals , Electronically Stored Information , Legal Technology

Chancery Finds Wholly Generic Objections to Discovery Requests Result in Waiver and Fee-Shifting

Bocock v. Innovate Corp., C.A. No. 2021-0224-PAF (Del. Ch. Dec. 6, 2023) - In this recent letter opinion, Vice Chancellor Fioravanti considered whether the plaintiffs’ failure to provide specific objections to discovery...more

2/23/2024 / Attorney's Fees , Attorney-Client Privilege , Discovery , Motion to Compel

Cybersecurity THREATS, RESPONSE, AND SOLUTIONS

Cyber-attacks become more common with each passing year, and the increased number of attacks means more protected data is vulnerable to data breach. As more and more business has moved online in the twenty-first century,...more

2/22/2024 / Cyber Attacks , Cyber Threats , Cybersecurity , Data Breach , Data Protection , Data Security , Popular

The Importance of Privilege Logs to Delaware Litigation

On February 9, at the Rubenstein-Walsh CLE on Ethics and Professionalism for the Delaware State Bar Association, a panel of experts, including Vice Chancellor Cook, discussed the importance of these logs, and the care and...more

2/21/2024 / Discovery , Document Productions , e-Discovery Professionals , Electronically Stored Information , Privilege Logs

Spoliation of Email and Texts Leads to Adverse Inferences and Fee Shifting

Gener8 LLC v. Castanon, 2022-0246-LWW (Del. Ch. Sept. 29, 2023) - This dispute concerned a non-compete agreement that the plaintiffs alleged the defendant breached by establishing a competing business. The defendant denied...more

1/24/2024 / Breach of Contract , Breach of Duty , Destruction of Evidence , Discovery , Fiduciary Duty , Spoliation

Chancery Orders Discovery Record Be Made Available to Stockholders in the Settlement Class

In re AMC Entertainment Hldgs., Inc. S’holder Litig., 2023-0215-MTZ (Del. Ch. May 20, 2023) - Under Delaware law, class members are entitled to access to the discovery record to assess the terms of a proposed class action...more

9/20/2023 / Class Action , Class Action Settlement , Class Members , Discovery , Shareholders

Chancery Prioritizes Efficiency in Ruling on Discovery Motions

Brown v. Matterport, Inc., 2021-0595-LWW (Del. Ch. Jun. 5, 2023) - The plaintiff sued alleging that the defendants had used lockup restrictions to improperly prevent him from selling shares....more

9/20/2023 / Discovery , Lock-Up Agreement , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Addresses When Third Parties Are Within the Scope of the Privilege

Police and Fire Ret. Sys. of the City of Detroit v. Musk, C.A. No. 2020-0477-KSJM (Del. Ch. January 31, 2023) - A communication is privileged under Delaware Rule of Evidence 502(b) if it is confidential and "made for the...more

5/4/2023 / Attorney-Client Privilege , Board of Directors , Confidential Communications , Derivative Suit , Shareholders

Threading the Labyrinth of Modern Email Collections

At this moment, communication is more instantaneous and readily available than at any other point in recorded history, and "recorded history" grows exponentially with each passing year. Across the globe, we collectively...more

4/11/2023 / Discovery , Discovery Disputes , Document Productions , Electronically Stored Information , Email , FRCP 26

Delaware Court Enters Default Judgment for Extreme Spoliation

Spoliation of evidence can lead to significant litigation sanctions, including adverse inferences, fee-shifting, and—in egregious cases—the entry of a default judgment. In this recent case involving intentional spoliation of...more

3/28/2023 / Discovery , e-Discovery Professionals , Electronically Stored Information , Evidence , Spoliation

Chancery Permits Discovery Under the Hague Evidence Convention

In Re Cote D’Azur Estate, C.A. No. 2017-0290-JTL (Del. Ch. Dec. 12, 2022) - The Hague Evidence Convention provides an alternative method from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to compelling production from opposing...more

1/19/2023 / Discovery , Document Productions , Evidence , Hague Convention

Superior Court Upholds Highly Confidential Designations in Discovery

Surf’s Up Legacy Partners, LLC v. Virgin Fest, LLC, C.A. No. 19C-11-92 (Del. Super. June 6, 2022) - Delaware courts generally do not permit the redaction of non-responsive material that is otherwise not privileged....more

10/14/2022 / Confidential Documents , Discovery , Document Productions , Special Master

Chancery Holds That Requests for Admission Are Subject to Discovery Deadlines

NetApp, Inc. v. Cinelli, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-1000-LWW (Del. Ch. June 3, 2022) - This decision clarifies discovery deadlines under the Court of Chancery rules....more

10/14/2022 / Breach of Contract , Discovery , Privilege Logs

Chancery Applies Privilege Rules in Business Negotiations Context

Twin Willows, LLC v. Pritzkur, C.A. No. 2020-0199-PWG (Del. Ch. Feb. 28, 2022) - This decision involved a Master in Chancery applying well-settled rules on the attorney-client privilege, common interest, and work product...more

8/11/2022 / Common-Interest Privilege , Discovery , Evidence , Motion to Compel , Work-Product Doctrine

Chancery Finds Former Directors Bringing Wrongful Termination Claims Were Not Entitled to all Privileged Communications During...

SerVaas v. Ford Smart Mobility LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0909-LWW (Del. Ch. Nov. 9, 2021) - With limited exceptions, directors normally have “unfettered” access to corporate information. This decision indicates, however, that the...more

2/22/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Contract , Breach of Duty , Discovery , Fiduciary Duty , Privileged Communication

Chancery Denies Motion to Compel Director’s Privileged Communications Stored on Third-Party’s Email Server

In Re Dell Technologies Inc Class V Stockholders Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0816-JTL (Del. Ch. Sept. 17, 2021) (TRANSCRIPT) - A director utilizing an email account associated with a different company for board...more

12/22/2021 / Attorney-Client Privilege , Board of Directors , Email , Privileged Communication

Chancery Finds Adversity Between Directors and Formation of Special Committee Shields Against Production of Company-Privileged...

In re: Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC, C.A. No. 2021-0487-LWW (Del. Ch. Sept. 22, 2021) - Issues of corporate privilege among directors entail a fact-specific analysis when a dispute arises among them. Here, the...more

12/17/2021 / Board of Directors , Discovery , Document Productions , Work-Product Doctrine

In Unusual Circumstances, Chancery Declines to Stay Discovery Pending Motion to Dismiss

Edward Deane, et al. v. Robert Maginn, Jr., C.A. No. 2017-0346-LWW (Del. Ch. Sept. 8, 2021) - Delaware courts often grant a motion to stay discovery pending the resolution of a potentially case-dispositive motion to...more

12/6/2021 / Discovery , Document Productions , Motion to Dismiss , Stays

Chancery Declines to Order Production of Privileged Document

Drachman v. BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0728-LWW (Del. Ch. Aug. 25, 2021) - Drachman addresses the attorney-client privilege, certain exceptions thereto, including the Garner doctrine, and...more

11/10/2021 / Attorney-Client Privilege , Breach of Duty , Discovery , Electronically Stored Information , Fiduciary Duty , Motion to Compel , Motion to Dismiss , Privileged Documents , Shareholders

Joseph Leonard

Morris James LLP

Popular Topics by This Author

Latest Publications