On May 31, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an important decision addressing several key areas of Delaware law related to merger litigation. The opinion indicates that the court will continue to closely scrutinize...more
Derivative Litigation Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Derivative Securities Action - Carpenters’ Pension Fund of Ill. v. Neidorff, No. 20-3216 (8th Cir. 2022) - Following Centene Corporation’s merger with Health Net,...more
9/12/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Materiality ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases decided in August and September 2021.
Appraisal Rights - Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Sophisticated Investors’ Waiver of Appraisal...more
12/3/2021
/ Appraisal Rights ,
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v Goldman Sachs Group ,
Board of Directors ,
Caremark claim ,
Cryptocurrency ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
FRCP 23(b) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
PSLRA ,
RICO ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Sherman Act ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose
Books and Records - Court of Chancery Orders Production of Emails, Denies Production of Privileged Communications in Books and Records Action - Emps.’ Ret. Sys. of R.I. v. Facebook, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0085-JRS (Del. Ch....more
6/9/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2020 and January 2021.
Derivative Litigation -
Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment...more
3/8/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Caremark claim ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Loss Causation ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Proxy Statements ,
PSLRA ,
Shareholder Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and June 2020....more
8/27/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Board of Directors ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Judicial Notice ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Scienter ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Short-Swing Trading ,
Summary Judgment
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including recent trends in Delaware corporate disclosure law, the Delaware Supreme Court’s important ruling in Marchand v....more
11/20/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Officers ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fair Valuation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Good Faith ,
Market Price ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Mootness Fee Applications ,
Omissions ,
Oversight Committee ,
Oversight Duties ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Votes
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May and August 2019....more
10/2/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Market Manipulation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Offering Documents ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
On June 18, 2019, in Marchand v. Barnhill, the Delaware Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr. on behalf of a unanimous court, issued a decision reversing the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of...more
6/21/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Good Faith ,
Independent Director ,
Listeria ,
Oversight Duties ,
Pre-Suit Notice ,
Product Recalls ,
Reversal ,
Shareholder Litigation
Recently, Delaware corporations faced with demands for books and records under 8 Del. C. § 220 have increasingly been forced to contend with demands for electronic communications, such as emails. Historically, the Delaware...more
5/11/2019
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Burden of Proof ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Discovery ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email ,
Inspection Rights ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Mergers ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Reversal ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholders
On January 29, 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court provided guidance to the Court of Chancery regarding the scope of a stockholder’s inspection rights under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law or similar LLC or...more
2/7/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Directors ,
Document Productions ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Email ,
Email Policies ,
Inspection Rights ,
Mobile Devices ,
Reversal ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Rights
Delaware courts tackled a number of issues of importance in 2015. The Delaware Supreme Court clarified prior inconsistent case law by reiterating that deference must be given to decisions made by disinterested directors. It...more
1/21/2016
/ Agency Deference ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Honest Belief Defense ,
Personal Liability ,
Securities Litigation ,
Stock-for-Stock Merger
We are pleased to share with you the inaugural issue of Insights: The Delaware Edition, a periodic publication addressing significant Delaware deal litigation and corporation law developments.
In This Issue:
- Q&A...more
10/23/2015
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Bylaws ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
COOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Dole Food ,
Due Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Fraud ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Mergers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Release Agreements ,
Remedies ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Special Committees ,
Standard of Review ,
State of Incorporation ,
Take-Private Transactions ,
Unfair Dealing