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Board of Directors Motion to Dismiss

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

Hogan Lovells

Federal district court denies Target’s motion to dismiss securities claims related to one of its ESG and DEI Initiatives

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In Craig v. Target Corporation, et al., the District Court for the Middle District of Florida considered whether Target Corporation (Target) committed securities violations by failing to disclose risks related to an ESG and...more

Venable LLP

Chancery Court Dismisses Equitable Challenge to Advance Notice Bylaws as Unripe

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Invoking the recent Delaware Supreme Court decision Kellner v. AIM ImmunoTech Inc., 320 A.3d 239 (Del. 2024) (“Kellner”), the Court of Chancery held that equitable challenges to the enforceability of advance notice bylaws are...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Supreme Court Holds Business Judgment Rule Applies To Controlled Corporation’s Change Of Corporate Domicile From Delaware...

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On February 4, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court, on interlocutory appeal, reversed the decision of the Delaware Court of Chancery to deny defendants’ motion to dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims against directors and a...more

A&O Shearman

Northern District Of California Grants Motion To Dismiss Federal Securities Class Action Against Subscription Streaming Services...

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On November 26, 2024, Judge Jon S. Tigar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion to dismiss a putative securities fraud class action against a subscription streaming...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Fiduciary Duty Claim Against Directors Based on Disclosures Regarding the Company’s Purposes

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Stansell v. Rosensweig, C.A. No. 2023-0180-PAF (Del. Ch. June 12, 2024) - The plaintiff was a stockholder of a company that provided online education resources. Some of the company's customers used its products to cheat on...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Dismisses Aiding And Abetting Fraud Claim Against Corporate Officers And Directors On Grounds That A Corporation...

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Urvan v. AMMO, Inc., Consol. C.A. No. 2023-0470 PRW (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2024, corrected Mar. 14, 2024) - It is an axiom of Delaware law that a corporation acts through its human agents. This principle informs the causes of...more

The Volkov Law Group

Episode 322 -- Checking in on Caremark Cases

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Over the last ten years, we have seen a marked shift from the Delaware Chancery Court chipping away at corporate board member liability claims. In a number of seminal cases involving Boeing airplane crashes (In re the Boeing...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Palkon v. Maffei: Delaware’s Warning Shot to Controlling Stockholders Seeking to Evade Fiduciary Duties by Reincorporating

Foley & Lardner LLP on

In late February, the Chancery Court denied a motion to dismiss a stockholder lawsuit against the controlling stockholder and board of directors of TripAdvisor, Inc., seeking to enjoin a reincorporation of TripAdvisor into...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Finds CEO's Statements To Shareholders, Directors And Officers May Be Protected Activity

Allen Matkins on

Nevada, like California, has enacted an anti-SLAPP law that is intended to protect citizens' First Amendment rights to petition the government for redress of grievances and to free speech by limiting the chilling effect of...more

Morris James LLP

Entire Fairness Standard Applied to Transaction Benefitting Controllers of Controllers

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Tueza v. Lindon, C.A. No. 2022-0130-SG (Del. Ch. Apr. 27, 2023) - Because controlling stockholders of Delaware corporations owe fiduciary duties to both the corporation and to its minority stockholders, the Court of...more

King & Spalding

Aiding and Abetting Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Lender Survive Motion to Dismiss

King & Spalding on

On April 26, 2023, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware denied in part and granted in part motions to dismiss a chapter 7 trustee’s breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting claims. The defendants...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Commercial Division Denies Car Dealership Owner’s Motion to Dismiss Suit Brought by Dealership’s Operating Companies, Puts...

Judge Richard Platkin of Albany County recently handed down a stark reminder to Defendant Walid Darwish: everyone has to follow the rules of the road, even the person who writes the rules and owns all the cars. On April 26,...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

The Court of Chancery Holds That Corporate Officers, Like Directors, Owe a Duty of Oversight

On January 25, 2023, Vice Chancellor Laster of the Court of Chancery issued a significant decision, finding as a matter of first impression that corporate officers owe a duty of oversight akin to the oversight duties owed by...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review - February 2023

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This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year. Our criteria for selection are that the decision either meaningfully changed...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Mission Critical’ Issues and ‘Red Flags’: What It Means for a Board To Exercise Oversight

Takeaways - Delaware courts have become more willing to allow stockholders to pursue claims that directors breached their duty to oversee risk management and compliance. Directors are most vulnerable to suits where they have...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Resolves Section 225 Dispute and Declines to Invalidate Written Consents

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Zhou v. Deng, C.A. No. 2021-0026-JRS (Del. Ch. Apr. 6, 2022) - When deciding a summary proceeding regarding a disputed corporate office under Section 225 of the DGCL, the Court of Chancery may consider whether an election,...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Indemnification to Director After Examining Settlement Agreement

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Huret v. Mondobrain, Inc., C.A. No. 2021-0208-SG (Del. Ch. Apr. 27, 2022) - Under Section 145(c) of the DGCL, a director that has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defending a covered proceeding is entitled to...more

Proskauer - Corporate Defense and Disputes

Divided Delaware Supreme Court Decision Highlights Issues About Director Independence in Derivative Actions

The Delaware Supreme Court recently affirmed a Court of Chancery ruling granting a Special Litigation Committee’s motion to terminate a shareholder derivative action that had survived a motion to dismiss. The split decision...more

Proskauer - Corporate Defense and Disputes

Cisco Diversity Suit Dismissed

Another shareholder derivative suit claiming diversity shortcomings within the company was dismissed last week: A judge in the Northern District of California dismissed allegations that Cisco Systems Inc. falsely and...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Revived a Dismissed Claim after Discovery Revealed a Desire for Liquidity that Resulted in a Divergent Interest in M&A...

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In re Mindbody, Inc., S’holder Litig., Cons. C.A. No. 2019-0442-KSJM (Del. Ch. Dec. 9, 2021) - A desire for liquidity can result in a divergent interest sufficient to plead fiduciary duty claims against a defendant...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Declines to Dismiss Investment Firm from Stockholder Derivative Suit

Goodwin on

Delaware Court of Chancery Declines to Dismiss Investment Firm from Stockholder Derivative Suit; Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Majority of Claims Alleging that California Biotech Firm Profited from Nonpublic Information...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Grants Special Litigation Committee’s Zapata Motion, Finds Committee Was Sufficiently Independent and Reasonable

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Diep v. Sather, C.A. No. 12760-CM (Del. Ch. July 30, 2021) - Under Zapata, when analyzing a motion to dismiss by a special litigation committee, the court evaluates whether the committee was independent, acted in good...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Conclusory Allegations of Gross Negligence and Disloyalty Against Oracle Officers and Directors Related to...

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In re Oracle Corp. Derv. Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337-SG (Del. Ch. June 21, 2021) - While Delaware maintains a notice pleading standard, this decision reflects that conclusory allegations of breach of fiduciary duty leveled...more

White & Case LLP

Notable decisions from Delaware courts

White & Case LLP on

Williams: Court of Chancery Finds Poison Pill Unenforceable - In February, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a shareholder rights plan (a "poison pill") adopted by The Williams Companies, Inc. at the onset of the...more

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