Tyler O'Connell on Shareholders

Chancery Decision Explains Availability of Reformation as a Targeted Remedy

AECOM, et al. v. SCCI Nat’l Hldgs., Inc., C.A. No. 2022-0727-MTZ (Del. Ch. Sept. 27, 2023) - Although the Court of Chancery frequently resolves contractual disputes, it grants contractual reformation only when...more

2/7/2024 / Breach of Contract , Contract Terms , Fraud , Shareholders

Chancery Declines to Defer to the Deal Price in Appraisal Proceeding Involving a Controller Squeeze-Out Subject to MFW Protections

HBK Master Fund L.P. v. Pivotal Software Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0165-KSJM (Del. Ch. Aug. 14, 2023) - The Delaware Court of Chancery engages in an independent valuation process when determining the fair value of petitioners'...more

1/4/2024 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , Mergers , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

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

Supreme Court Affirms Court of Chancery’s Decision Directing “Long Dark” Company to Produce Books and Records to a Stockholder...

Hauppauge Digital, Inc. v. Rivest, C.A. No. 2019-0848 (Del. July 10, 2023). Under Delaware law, once a stockholder has established a proper purpose to inspect a corporation's books and records, the Court of Chancery has...more

11/10/2023 / Books & Records , Section 220 Request , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Denies Books and Records Request Related to Disney’s Opposition to Florida Legislation Prohibiting LGBTQ+ Topics in...

Simeone v. The Walt Disney Company, C.A. No. 2022-1120-LWW (Del. Ch. June 27, 2023) - The Walt Disney Company opposed Florida legislation that limits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida...more

11/1/2023 / Books & Records , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , Section 220 Request , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Provides Additional Analysis of Primedia Claims in MFW Context

City of Dearborn Police and Fire Revised Retirement System (Chapter 23) et al. v. Brookfield Asset Management Inc., C.A. No. 2022-0097-KSJM (Del. Ch. June 21, 2023) - In a short letter decision, Chancellor McCormick...more

10/25/2023 / Derivative Suit , Mergers , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Holds Unocal Claims for Injunctive Relief are not Subject to Corwin Cleansing

In re Edgio, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2022-0624-MTZ (Del. Ch. May 1, 2023) - Under Corwin, a fully informed, uncoerced vote of the disinterested stockholders can shift the standard of judicial review for...more

9/26/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Finds that Buyer Breached Purchase Agreement by Denying Sellers’ Rights to Participate in a Defense

LPPAS Representative, LLC v. ATH Holding Co. LLC, C.A. 2020-0241-KSJM / Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. ATH Holding Co. LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0443-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 2, 2023) - Delaware law recognizes parties’...more

9/26/2023 / Breach of Contract , Motion for Summary Judgment , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

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

Director violated Revlon Duties by Tilting the Sales Process in favor of the Buyer

In re Mindbody Inc. Stockholder Litig., C.A. No. 2019-0442-KSJM (Del. Ch. Mar. 15, 2023) - Under Revlon, to demonstrate that they satisfied their fiduciary duties in connection with a sale of control, directors bear the...more

6/21/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , 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

Chancery Finds Delaware’s Officer Consent Statute Extends Beyond “Formal Officers” to De Facto or Acting Officers

Harris v Harris, C.A. No. 2019-0736-JTL (Del. Ch. January 19, 2023) - Delaware's Officer Consent Statute provides for service of process on anyone who "accepts election or appointment as an officer of a corporation…or who...more

5/4/2023 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Finds Stockholder Conferred a Substantial Corporate Benefit by Challenging the Joint Vote of Two Classes of Common Stock...

Garfield v. Boxed Inc., C.A. No. 2022-0132-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 27, 2022). Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL requires the separate approval of different classes of stock for charter amendments that, inter alia, “increase or...more

2/15/2023 / Bylaws , Delaware General Corporation Law , Mergers , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Court of Chancery Awards Plaintiffs Attorneys’ Fees and Costs in Section 225 Action for Obtaining a Substantial Benefit for the...

Totta v. CCSB, LLC, C.A. No. 2021-0173-KSJM (Del. Ch. Nov. 3, 2022) - Delaware follows the “American Rule”: each party bears its own legal fees and expenses. However, there are certain exceptions. This includes the...more

2/2/2023 / American Rule , Attorney's Fees , Board of Directors , Shareholders

Imposing “A Remedy Of First Impression,” Chancery Divests Party Of Stock Ownership As A Post-Judgment Contempt Sanction Under Rule...

In re Stream TV Networks, Inc. Omnibus Agreement Litig., C.A. No. 2020-0776-JTL (Del. Ch. Oct. 3, 2022) - Court of Chancery Rule 70 speaks to the Court’s discretion in fashioning sanctions for failure to comply with a...more

1/3/2023 / Common Stock , Creditors , Shareholders , Stock Ownership

Chancery Rules That Delisted and Long-Dark Corporation Failed To Show Harm Warranting a Confidentiality Order for Basic Financial...

Rivest v. Hauppauge Digital, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0848-PWG (Del. Ch. Sept. 1, 2022) - Plaintiff stockholder sought to inspect the books and records of a defendant company, requesting a narrow universe of annual and...more

11/29/2022 / Books & Records , Delaware General Corporation Law , Section 220 Request , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Chancery Suggests Alternative Approach To Contracts Providing That Prohibited Acts Are Void Ab Initio

XRI Investment Holdings LLC v. Holifield, et al., C.A. No. 2021-0619-JTL (Del. Ch. Sept. 13, 2022) - Under precedents such as CompoSecure, L.L.C. v. CardUX, LLC (Del. 2018), acts defined by an LLC agreement as “void” or...more

11/18/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Contract , Limited Liability Company (LLC) , LLC Agreements , Shareholders

Chancery Dismisses Claims Alleging Directors Approved Spring-Loaded Stock Options Before Press Releases on COVID-19 Vaccine...

In re Vaxart, Inc. S’holder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2020-0767-PAF (Del. Ch. June 3, 2022) - A small biotechnology company issued a press release that connected the company to the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed...more

11/15/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Class Vote Requirement, Reasons There Is No Insolvency Exception to Section 271 Of The Delaware...

Stream TV Networks, Inc. v. SeeCubic, Inc., No. 360, 2021 (Del. June 15, 2022) - Section 271 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, among other things, that a majority vote of stockholders is required to sell...more

10/11/2022 / Board of Directors , Delaware General Corporation Law , Insolvency , Shareholder Approval , Shareholders

Chancery Finds AT&T Failed to Satisfy Entire Fairness Review in a Freeze-Out of Minority Partners in Local Spectrum Partnership

In re Cellular Telephone P’ship Litig., Coordinated C.A. No. 6885-VCL (Del. Ch. Mar. 9, 2022) - A controller that stands on both sides of a freeze-out transaction has the burden to prove that its acquisition was entirely...more

8/26/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Fiduciary Duty , Partnerships , Shareholders

The Parable of the Tesla and SolarCity Deal

The Delaware Court of Chancery’s April 27 Tesla Motors opinion likens some decisions to “parables”—stories that illustrate important lessons. In the words of presiding Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III, the story of Tesla...more

7/21/2022 / Acquisitions , Controlling Stockholders , Elon Musk , Entire Fairness Standard , Shareholders , Tesla

Chancery Rejects Argument that Omitted Information Prevents Corwin Dismissal

Galindo v. Stover, C.A. No. 2021-0031-SG (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2022) - If a majority of fully informed, uncoerced, disinterested stockholders vote to approve a merger not involving a conflicted controlling stockholder, then...more

4/28/2022 / Board of Directors , Breach of Duty , Corwin Doctrine , Fiduciary Duty , Mergers , Shareholders

Chancery Dismisses Action for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction on Grounds that the...

Qlarant, Inc. v. IP Commercialization Labs, LLC, C.A. No. 2021-0574-MTZ (Del. Ch. Jan. 25, 2022) - Pursuant to an asset purchase agreement, the plaintiff buyer purchased assets from a seller and several of its affiliates....more

4/22/2022 / Asset Purchase Agreements , Breach of Contract , Motion to Dismiss , Shareholders

Delaware Supreme Court Permits Substitution of Bankruptcy Trustee as Plaintiff to Resolve “Procedural Conundrum”

Lenois v. Lawal, No. 33, 2021 (Del. Dec. 9, 2021) - A company’s bankruptcy filing during an appeal of a dismissal of a derivative action presents questions of who, if anyone, has the standing to pursue the company’s...more

3/31/2022 / Breach of Duty , Derivative Suit , Fiduciary Duty , Shareholder Litigation , Shareholders

Tyler O'Connell

Morris James LLP

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