News & Analysis as of

Board of Directors Executive Compensation Fiduciary Duty

ArentFox Schiff

Delaware’s New Approach To Interested Director and Minority Stockholder Protections

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On March 25, Delaware governor, Matt Meyer, signed into law Substitute 1 to Senate Bill 21 (SB 21), following its rapid approval by the Delaware state legislature. This legislative measure aims to counter the current trend of...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Executive Compensation Action For Failure To Plead Demand Futility

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Eckert v. Hightower, C.A. No. 2024-0569-MTZ (Del. Ch. Mar. 24, 2025) - A board of directors approved compensation packages for the company’s CEO, who also was its controlling stockholder. The CEO was a member of the...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Stopping ‘Dexit': Delaware Makes Significant Changes to Its General Corporation Law

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In an effort to maintain its status as the leading state for incorporation, Delaware has made historic and significant changes to its General Corporation Law (DGCL) that make it more difficult for shareholders to challenge...more

White & Case LLP

Corporate Governance Key developments

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Updated Principles of Remuneration - On the 9 October 2024, the Investment Association (‘IA’), a trade body for UK investment managers, published the Principles of Remuneration (the Principles). IA members are...more

Perkins Coie

BlackRock’s US Proxy Voting Guidelines Updates

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BlackRock recently published its updated “Proxy Voting Guidelines for Benchmark Policies - U.S. Securities” for the 2025 proxy season, along with its 2025 “Global Principles for Benchmark Policies” and “Engagement Priorities...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Corporate Governance Takeaways Following Rescission of Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Equity Compensation Package

“Was the richest person in the world overpaid?” That’s how the Delaware Court of Chancery (the Court) began the 200-page opinion in Tornetta v. Musk to rescind Elon Musk’s entire $55.8 billion 10-year equity compensation...more

BCLP

Tesla’s Super-charged Equity Award to Elon Musk Unplugged by Delaware Court Cautionary Tale for Boards and Executives

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The Delaware Chancery Court invalidated a substantial equity award to Elon Musk – the largest in history. It applied the entire fairness test instead of the more deferential business judgment rule, finding that Musk...more

A&O Shearman

Court Of Chancery Rescinds CEO Compensation Package Under Entire Fairness Review

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In a January 30, 2024, post-trial ruling, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery rescinded a compensation package valued at $55.8 billion awarded by Tesla, Inc. to its CEO,...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Rescinds Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Compensation Package in Cautionary Tale About Director Independence...

Goodwin on

On January 30, 2024, the Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the $55.8 billion compensation plan that Tesla, Inc.’s board of directors had granted to Tesla’s well-known CEO, Elon Musk, finding that the...more

Smith Anderson

North Carolina Business Court Clarifies Corporate Director Duties of Care

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The North Carolina Business Court recently issued a lengthy opinion discussing the duties of corporate directors. Key points include: ..Directors comply with their duty to exercise adequate oversight if the board makes a...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Courts Continue Strict Review of Compensation Matters; Practical Advice on Decision-Making Processes

On April 27, 2022, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion, on a motion to dismiss, addressing several important governance topics about director and officer compensation—including...more

Bracewell LLP

ESG Investing and Retirement Plans

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Background - As ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing recently has drawn the attention of governmental agencies that oversee the administration of qualified retirement plans and their trillions of dollars...more

Jones Day

Shareholder Derivative Litigation Concerning Diversity in Corporate Leadership Is an Emerging Trend

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The Situation: A number of shareholder derivative lawsuits in federal court have been filed seeking to hold directors and officers of major companies accountable for alleged failures to uphold their commitment to diversity....more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Materiality Standard for Director Disclosure

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A plaintiff challenging a merger when a majority of the board approving the transaction is disinterested and independent and there is no controlling stockholder on both sides cannot state a cognizable claim of breach of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Finds Allegations Of Personal And Professional Relationships Sufficient To Excuse Pre-Suit Demand

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On September 30, 2019, Chancellor Andre G. Bouchard of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied defendants’ motion to dismiss a stockholder derivative action for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with BGC Partners, Inc.’s...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Attempt to Limit Directors’ Liability for Setting Their Own Compensation is Rejected

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A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision on a challenge to Goldman Sachs directors’ setting their own compensation is interesting because the court rejected the company’s attempt to make an end run around current law. The...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Court Provides Further Guidance on Stockholder Challenges to Director Compensation

On May 31, 2019, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision refusing to dismiss a stockholder's fiduciary duty claims challenging the compensation of Goldman Sachs' board of directors.1...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Corporate Law & Governance Update - June 2018

McDermott Will & Emery on

Executive Compensation Recoupment - The most recent development in the prominent University of Louisville Foundation controversy is the release of an independent analysis suggesting that its senior executive leadership was...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Business Judgment Rule Applies to a Board’s Response to Take “All Necessary Actions”

What legal standard applies to assess a corporate board’s refusal to pursue litigation in response to a shareholder’s demand to take “all necessary actions” to correct alleged director misconduct?...more

Cooley LLP

Alert: Delaware Supreme Court Changes Conversation on Director Compensation

Cooley LLP on

In recent years, there has been an increase in Delaware breach of fiduciary duty claims (including stockholder demands and actual cases) asserted against public company boards alleging that the directors engaged in...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Impact of Compensation-Related Litigation on Public Companies

Compensation-related litigation and threats of litigation continued to significantly impact public companies in 2017. These companies should be mindful of issues that were raised in recent litigation: proxy disclosure,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Hot Topic for 2018 Proxy Season: Director Compensation in Wake of New Delaware Supreme Court Ruling

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In an important recent opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation that certain director compensation decisions would be reviewed under the “entire fairness” standard...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Better Part of Valor: Delaware Supreme Court Rules No Ratification Defense for Director Grants under Discretionary Plans

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

What happens when corporate directors approve their own awards under an equity incentive plan? Under Delaware law, so long as the plan is approved by a majority of the fully informed, uncoerced and disinterested stockholders,...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Boards Beware: Delaware Supreme Court Limits Application of Deferential Standard for Reviewing Director Equity Awards

On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Another Reminder that Director Limits set forth in Equity Plans Allow Director Compensation to be Reviewed under the more Lenient...

Earlier this month, in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery reiterated its view that placing a meaningful limit on director equity awards to be granted under a stockholder...more

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