News & Analysis as of

Board of Directors Discovery

Sullivan & Worcester

The Supreme Court of Israel Issues Groundbreaking Decision on Derivative Claims, Referencing Article Co-Authored by Sullivan...

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Tel Aviv, Israel – Recently, in a precedential case, the Supreme Court of Israel (the "Supreme Court") cited and based its groundbreaking decision on an article co-authored by Amichay Tessler, a litigation partner in Sullivan...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Curtails Discovery in Appraisal Action Instituted as a Substitute for Books and Records Demand

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Wei v. Zoox, Inc, C.A. No. 2020-1036-KSJM (Del. Ch. Jan. 31, 2022) - Often, stockholders who suspect corporate wrongdoing in connection with M&A transactions demand to inspect the company’s books and records under Section...more

Morris James LLP

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

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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

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Limits Discovery In Appraisal Proceeding To Materials Available In Books-And-Records Demand

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On January 31, 2022, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery partially granted a protective order brought by Zoox, Inc. (“respondent” or “Zoox”) limiting discovery requests by stockholders in a...more

Goodwin

Delaware Federal Court Dismisses Shareholder Derivative Suit Concerning Lack of Board Diversity

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Delaware Federal Court Dismisses Shareholder Derivative Suit Concerning Lack of Board Diversity; California Federal Court Dismisses Shareholder Class Action Against Sorrento Therapeutics Regarding COVID-19 Treatment; Delaware...more

Morris James LLP

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

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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

Goodwin

Northern District of California Kicks Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Alphabet, Inc. for Failing to Allege Demand Futility

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Northern District of California Kicks Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Alphabet, Inc. For Failing to Allege Demand Futility; Rare Securities “Holder’s Claim” Trial Results in Jury Verdict for Defendants; Delaware Court of...more

Allen Matkins

Court Orders Discovery In Derivative Action Challenging Racial Diversity

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Last year, the City of Pontiac General Employees' Retirement System filed a derivative suit against the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Cisco Systems, Inc.  The gist of the complaint was that the "Defendants...more

Goodwin

SCOTUS Grants Certiorari to Decide Whether Automatic Discovery Stay Applies to Securities Act Cases in State Court

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SCOTUS Grants Certiorari to Decide Whether Automatic Discovery Stay Applies to Securities Act Cases in State Court; Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Suit Against FedEx for Failure to Make Pre-Litigation...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds That Management Does Not Have Unilateral Authority to Preclude a Director From Obtaining the Company’s Privileged...

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In Re WeWork Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2020-0258-AGB (Del. Ch. Aug. 21, 2020) - In October 2019, The We Company’s (the “Company”) board of directors established a special committee (the “Special Committee”) to evaluate a...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Key Developments in Delaware Corporation Law

Consistent with trends in recent years, in 2019 Delaware corporation law largely was shaped by post-closing suits for money damages against directors who had approved mergers and acquisitions. Two Delaware Supreme Court...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Recent Trends in Books and Records Litigation

Recently, the frequency of stockholder demands to inspect corporate books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law has increased. In turn, the case law concerning Section 220 demands is...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Chris Lazarini Examines Allegations of ERISA Fiduciary Violations

Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined allegations brought by members of a company’s 403(b) retirement savings plan that the plan fiduciaries violated their duties by selecting and failing to replace higher-cost...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Director Access to Privileged Materials Involving Counsel to Preferred-Appointed Directors

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Gilmore v. Turvo, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0472-JRS (Del. Ch. Aug. 19, 2019). As several Delaware decisions teach, each director, as a member of the larger deliberative body that is the board, has a fundamental right to access...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Supreme Court Provides Further Guidance on Demands to Inspect Electronic Communications

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

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

PetSmart Tells PE Firms to GetSmart on Privilege

How PE firms can minimize attorney-client privilege risks after Argos Holdings Inc. and PetSmart Inc. v. Wilmington Trust N.A. PE firms face a variety of litigation and deal-related attorney-client privilege challenges...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery Grants Section 220 Demand By Director And Former CEO For Documents Related To His Ouster From The...

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On January 15, 2019, Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a former director’s petition under 8 Del. C. § 220, demanding that Papa John’s International Inc. (the “Company”) hand over various...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Delaware Litigation Developments Impacting Financial Advisors

Over the last few years, significant developments in Delaware law and practice have changed the traditional M&A litigation landscape. These developments resulted in a dramatic reduction in pre-closing applications for...more

Jones Day

Board Practices in the Digital Age: Beyond Corporate Housekeeping

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The Background: Technology has transformed the way that directors receive and review information and communicate with each other and with management. The Issue: Although many modern board practices are more secure and...more

Jones Day

ALJ Denies Sanctions for Being Unsupported by Discovery Misconduct

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In a recent order, Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Shaw denied Complainants’ Paice LLC and the Abell Foundation, Inc. (“Paice”) motion for evidentiary sanctions against Respondent Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) for allegedly...more

Bracewell LLP

Two Recent Delaware Decisions Further Illustrate The Scope Of Section 220 Discovery

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Two recent Delaware Court of Chancery decisions demonstrate that narrow statutory standards continue to govern access to corporate books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In the...more

Morris James LLP

Looking Back on 2014: The 7 Most Important eDiscovery Cases in Delaware - Part 3

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Herbert Chen and Derek Sheeler v. Robert Howard-Anderson, Steven Krausz, Robert Abbott, Robert Bylin, Thomas Pardun, Brian Strom, Albert Moyer, Jeanne Seeley, and Occam Networks, Inc., C.A. No. 5878–VCL, Oral Argument on...more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Outlines Discovery In Books and Records Case

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First, the discovery cannot be of the very records the plaintiff seeks to obtain, for that will give him the relief he seeks before he proves his case. Second, it is often the case that the records are being sought for use in...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

What’s Mine is Not Yours: Former Officers and Directors and a Corporation’s Attorney–Client Privilege

An officer or director’s company exit often feels like a divorce, with post-departure monetary payments and document-custody issues dominating the immediate aftermath. Companies are quick to enforce non-compete agreements and...more

Allen Matkins

No Directors, No Officers, No Employees And No Agents – Now What?

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Occasionally, a corporation may find itself with no directors and no management. Yet, the corporation does not cease to exist. One might wonder what use can there be in a corporation deprived of head and limb. In...more

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