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Chancery Finds that Would-Be Caremark Plaintiffs Failed to Plead Demand Futility

Bricklayers Pension Fund of W. Pa. v. Brinkley, C.A. No. 2022-1118-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 12, 2024) - In derivative cases where a stockholder-plaintiff has not made a pre-suit demand on the board of directors, demand futility...more

Chancery Holds That Demand Was Not Wrongfully Refused When Considered by Working Group

In re Kraft Heinz Demand Refused Derivative Stockholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2022-0398-LWW (Del. Ch. July 19, 2024) - By making a demand, a stockholder-plaintiff tacitly concedes that the board can impartially consider...more

Court of Chancery Rejects ‘Caremark’ Liability for Imperfect Compliance With Legal Obligations

Delaware corporations are not permitted to pursue profits by violating the law. Under Caremark and its progeny, directors’ fiduciary duties include the good faith obligation to oversee and monitor the corporation’s compliance...more

Chancery Holds Plaintiff Fails to Meet Rule 23.1 Pleading Standard, Dismisses Action Arising From T-Mobile Data Hack

Harper v. Sievert, C.A. No. 2022-0819-SG (Del. Ch. May 31, 2024). A stockholder plaintiff brought derivative claims alleging that current and former directors of T-Mobile US, Inc. were liable for aggregating customers’...more

Chancery Finds That Books and Records Incorporated by Reference in Complaint Demonstrate the Lack of a Valid Caremark Claim

Joel Newman v. KKR Phorm Investors, L.P., et al. C.A. No. 2022-0310-NAC (Del. Ch. Aug. 31, 2023). At the motion to dismiss stage, Delaware courts will consider the facts alleged in the complaint as well as the documents...more

Chancery Rejects Challenge to Director’s Appointment and Dismisses Derivative Claims

Simons v. Brookfield Asset Mgmt., Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0841-KSJM (Del. Ch. Jan. 21, 2022) - If a derivative plaintiff does not make a pre-suit demand on the board, then under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, the plaintiff must...more

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

Chancery Holds Plaintiffs Adequately Pled Wrongful Refusal Where Board Did Not Correct Unauthorized Charter Amendments

Drachman v. Cukier, C.A. No. 2019-0728-LWW (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2021) - To survive a motion to dismiss in the demand refusal context, the plaintiff must allege facts that create a reasonable doubt that the board’s decision...more

Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claim Arising From Marriott Cybersecurity Breach

Fire Ret. Sys. of St. Louis v. Sorenson, et al., 2021 WL 4593777 (Del. Ch. Oct. 5, 2021). The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed pursuant to Rule 23.1 derivative claims arising from the hack of roughly 500 million...more

Chancery Applies Recent Zuckerberg Decision and Holds That Demand Was Not Excused

Genworth Fin., Inc. Consol. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 11901-VCS (Del. Ch. Sept. 29, 2021) - In a demand futility analysis, Delaware courts have traditionally applied the Rales and Aronson decisions. However, the Delaware...more

Chancery Dismisses Derivative Claims That Private Equity Sponsors Comprised A Control Group

Patel v. Duncan, C.A. No. 2020-0418-MTZ (Del. Ch. Sept. 30, 2021) - For stockholders to comprise a control group, the alleged group members must be connected in some “legally significant way – such as by contract, common...more

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

Chancery Reasons That Board’s Decision To Address Alleged “Red Flags” Related To Pending Litigation, After Litigation Is Resolved,...

Pettry v. Smith et al., C.A. No. 2019-0796-JRS (Del. Ch. June 28, 2021) - As discussed in Caremark and its progeny, fiduciary duties require directors to monitor the business and affairs of a corporation. Here, the Court...more

Chancery Rejects Plaintiff’s Attempt to Recharacterize Pre-Suit Demands

The Raj & Sonal Abhyanker Fam. Tr. v. Blake, C.A. No. 2020-0521-KSJM (June 17, 2021) - Court of Chancery Rule 23.1 presents a would-be derivative plaintiff with two exclusive options: make a pre-suit demand on the board to...more

Chancery Confirms the Challenges in Pleading Caremark and Non-Shareholder Action Disclosure Claims

Fisher v. Sanborn, C.A. No. 2019-0631-AGB (Del. Ch. Mar. 30, 2021) - Under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, a plaintiff attempting to bring a derivative action on behalf of a corporation faces a heightened “particularized”...more

Chancery Excuses Demand Where General Partner and its Controller Faced Substantial Likelihood of Liability

Lipman v. GBP Capital Holdings, LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0054-SG (Del. Ch. Nov. 18, 2020) - In derivative actions, a plaintiff must either make a pre-suit demand or plead with particularity why demand should be excused. As this...more

Chancery Dismisses Derivative Action for Failure to Plead Demand Futility Despite Unocal Enhanced Scrutiny

Gottlieb v. Duskin, C.A. No. 2019-0639-MTZ (Del. Ch. Nov. 20, 2020) - Defendants moved to dismiss a derivative action for failure to plead demand futility under Rule 23.1. The complaint alleged that the director...more

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

Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal of Uber Derivative Action for Failure to Plead Demand Futility

Mcelrath v. Kalanick, No. 181-2019 (Del. Jan. 13, 2020). This case exemplifies the Delaware courts’ approach to examining demand futility. In 2016, Uber Technologies, Inc. (“Uber”) acquired Ottomotto LLC (“Otto”), a...more

Chancery Finds Request for “Corrective Action” to be a Litigation Demand, Dismisses Derivative Claims for Failure to Plead...

Solak v. Welch, et al., C.A. No. 2018-0810-KSJM (Del. Ch. Oct. 30, 2019). Under the Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Spiegel v. Buntrock, 571 A.2d 767 (Del. 1990), a stockholder who makes a demand upon the board to...more

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