In an opinion issued just after Christmas, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster ruled that a derivative lawsuit may proceed against the directors and officers of Fox Corporation. The plaintiffs are claiming that the directors...more
Last week Kevin M. LaCroix reported that the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had voted unanimously to approve the staff’s request for authorization to file a suit against six former officers...more
A little more than eight years ago, I wrote about U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte's ruling that a corporate board of directors lacks the capacity of being sued. Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc. v. Leland Stanford Junior...more
After the premiere performance of Mozart's singspiel Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in Vienna’s old Burgtheatert, Emperor Joseph II of Austria reportedly quipped "Too many notes, dear Mozart, too...more
12/16/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Elon Musk ,
Incorporation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholders ,
Tesla ,
Texas
Although parties in American litigation usually are responsible for paying their own attorneys' fees, there are many exceptions. One of those exceptions is when someone confers a "common benefit". A common benefit may, for...more
When a California corporation has been completely wound up without court proceedings, a majority of the directors then in office must sign and verify a Certificate of Dissolution which must be filed with the California...more
Professor Stephen Bainbridge has offered a rebuttal to my observation that Delaware's corporate law is inaccessible to everyday observers. He posits that inaccessibility is a "feature not a bug". As an example, he describes...more
Under California Penal Code Section 496(a) a person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or...more
Professor Stephen Bainbridge recently took note of a draft essay by Yale Law School Professor Jonathan R. Macey, Delaware Law Mid-Century: Far From Perfect but Probably Not Leaving for Las Vegas. Professor Macey posits that...more
In a lengthy post yesterday, Professor Stephen Bainbridge advanced the following argument...more
California's securities qualification requirements and exemptions depend upon whether the offer and sale of securities is an issuer transaction, a change in rights, exchange, merger, or conversion transaction, or a nonissuer...more
Recently, I wrote about a proposal by The Trade Desk, Inc. to convert from a Delaware to a Nevada corporation. Predictably, a stockholder challenged the proposed reincorporation. Gunderson v. The Trade Desk, Inc., 2024 WL...more
Gaxos.ai Inc. lists its corporate headquarters as Roseland, New Jersey, but like many companies it is incorporated in Delaware. Last week, it joined several other companies that are proposing to reincorporate in Nevada. In...more
When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation. Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more
11/4/2024
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Corporate Officers ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
General Corporation Law ,
Nevada ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders
Much has been written about Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster's ruling in Palkon v. Maffeii, 2024 WL 678204 (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024). That case involved a challenge to TripAdvisor's planned reincorporation from Delaware to...more
In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders. Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more
In yesterday's post, I discussed Tuli v. Specialty Surgical Center of Thousand Oaks, LLC, 2024 WL 4499271 (Oct. 16, 2024) and whether alleged personal animosity vitiated application of the business judgment rule to the...more
Recently, I wrote that The Trade Desk, Inc. is proposing to reincorporate from Delaware into Nevada. An appendix to the company's definitive proxy statement includes a table of Proposed Reincorporations, Proxy Filings from...more
Regular readers of this blog will know that Nevada corporate law has been a long-time interest for me. That interest began several decades ago when I wrote the first treatise on Nevada corporate law. That treatise was...more
Although much attention of late has been devoted to proposals to reincorporate in Nevada from Delaware, not every corporation is swimming in the same direction. Last May, Kintara Therapeutics, Inc., a Nevada corporation,...more
In 2020, GlobalTech Corporation, a Nevada corporation, filed an amendment to its articles of incorporation increasing its authorized number of shares of common stock from 10 million to 500 million. The amendment was...more
Palkon v. Maffei, 311 A.3d 255 (Del. Ch. 2024), cert. denied, No. 2023-0449-JTL, 2024 WL 1211688 (Del. Ch. Mar. 21, 2024) involved a challenge to the proposed reincorporation of TripAdvisor, Inc. from Delaware to Nevada. ...more
Earlier this week, The Trade Desk, Inc. filed preliminary proxy materials for a special meeting of stockholders. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the reincorporation of the corporation from the State of Delaware to...more
Last week, Chromocell Therapeutics Corporation filed preliminary proxy materials that included a proposal to reincorporate in Nevada. Rather than convert, the company is proposing to effect the reincorporation by means of a...more
Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies. Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides. Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more