News & Analysis as of

Breach of Duty Business Judgment Rule

Hogan Lovells

Delaware Supreme Court clarifies entire fairness standard for controlling stockholder transactions

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In In re Match Group Deriv. Litig., the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the lower court’s decision on the appropriate standard of review and the application of Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp., 88...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Expands MFW Applicability in Conflicted Controller Transactions

On April 4, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated decision, In re Match Group Derivative Litigation (“In re Match Group”), extending the MFW doctrine more broadly to all conflicted controller...more

Mayer Brown

In re Match Group, Inc.: Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Controlling Stockholder Transactions

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In a recent decision, the Delaware Supreme Court clarified the proper standard to apply to a non-freeze-out merger transaction involving a controlling stockholder. Litigators who practice in the Delaware Court of Chancery are...more

Venable LLP

Fiduciary Liability Limitations Under Nevada Law Trigger Entire Fairness Review of Conversion from Delaware Due to Controlling...

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The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Palkon v. Maffei, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0449-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), determined that a reduction in the liability exposure of a fiduciary due to the conversion of a Delaware...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

Goodwin

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

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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

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Business Judgment Rule Saves Disney Officers and Directors in a Stockholder Records Action

Corporate activity related to ESG can have profound legal and market consequences. These consequences can be cut many ways. Although having taken a position on Florida legislation that resulted in negative business...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

What Fiduciary Duties Do I Have as a Director of a Delaware Corporation?

You’re an entrepreneur, you form your first company, and suddenly you carry the title of founder, director, officer, and/or employee all at once. When running your business, it may feel like all of your roles blur together....more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

The Business Judgment Rule – a Director’s Best Friend

In corporate law, it is customary to identify three organs through which a business company operates: the shareholders, the company’s management, and the board of directors. While the duties and rules by which shareholders...more

Hogan Lovells

Joseph Lawrence Ligos v. Isramco, Inc.: Court dismisses breach of fiduciary duty claims

Hogan Lovells on

In Joseph Lawrence Ligos v. Isramco, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2020-0435-SG (Del. Ch. Nov. 30, 2022), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss a shareholder class action complaint alleging that the members of...more

Goodwin

McDonald’s Part Two: Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claims Against Directors Arising From Sexual Harassment Issues

Goodwin on

On March 1, 2023, in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims against McDonald’s directors...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Delaware Chancery MFW Framework Does Not Require Best Deal

As Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (MFW) establishes, the Business Judgment Rule must be applied to a transaction involving a controlling shareholder, if the deal is conditioned upon the approval of: (1) an independent special...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Life May Not Be Fair, But Interested Party Transactions Should Be

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When a court reviews contested business transactions of a Delaware corporation, they typically rely on one of two standards of review: the “business judgment rule” or the “entire fairness standard.” The business judgment rule...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Principles of Fiduciary Deference: The Business Judgment Rule and Exculpatory Clauses

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

A number of lawsuits have percolated through New York’s courts over the past five years between Adam Max, son of world-renowned visual artist Peter Max, and Adam’s sister, Libra, over control and management of the family...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Derivative Claim for Failure to Show Demand Futility

Goodwin on

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Derivative Claim for Failure to Show Demand Futility; Federal Illegality of Marijuana Industry Bars Relief for Numerous Investor Claims; LIBOR Convictions of Former Deutsche Bank Traders...more

BCLP

Delaware Chancery Court Decision Highlights Risks of Liability for Directors in SPAC Deals

BCLP on

A recent Delaware Chancery Court decision highlights the liability risks faced by directors and sponsors of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) and the importance of robust disclosure in protecting against those...more

Dechert LLP

Avoiding an Out-of-Court Restructuring May Breach Fiduciary Duties

Dechert LLP on

Introduction Under Delaware law, the board of directors of an insolvent company has wide latitude to pursue good-faith strategies to maximize the value of the firm. Trenwick Am. Litig. Tr. v. Ernst & Young, L.L.P., 906 A.2d...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

#MeToo and Business Divorce: The Flip Side

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Two years ago, Peter Mahler wrote about a dissolution lawsuit by a female minority shareholder alleging that her male co-shareholders condoned a pattern of sexually offensive and demeaning conduct by a senior co-worker, which...more

Freeman Law

The Business Judgment Rule in Texas

Freeman Law on

Corporate officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to the corporation that they serve, and they can be held liable if they breach that fiduciary duty. Fiduciary duties are not codified in the Texas Business Organizations...more

Winstead PC

Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Trustees/Managers of Closely-Held Businesses - Presentation

Winstead PC on

David F. Johnson presented “Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Trustees/Managers of Closely-Held Businesses” with Kenneth J. Fair of Wright Close & Barger, LLP, on July 22, 2021, for Strafford Webinars to a national...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Presidio Shines Light on Key Delaware Deal Litigation Trends and Topics

In Firefighters’ Pension System of the City of Kansas City, Missouri Trust v. Presidio, Inc., Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed claims against directors of Presidio, Inc. (Presidio) and...more

Goodwin

A Win for Deal Certainty, Delaware Court of Chancery Orders Closing of Cake Supplier Acquisition

Goodwin on

A Win for Deal Certainty, Delaware Court of Chancery Orders Closing of Cake Supplier Acquisition; Under Armour to Pay $9M to Settle SEC Charges Involving Disclosure Failures; First Circuit Upholds Decision Applying Federal...more

Mintz - Bankruptcy & Restructuring Viewpoints

Director Fiduciary Duties May Extend Post-Closing in Multi-Stage Transactions

A recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York highlights directors’ fiduciary duty to evaluate all aspects of multi-stage transactions, including those portions to be effectuated...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court: Inherent Fairness Standard Cannot Be Used To Rebut The Business Judgment Rule

Allen Matkins on

Nevada has codified the business judgment rule as follows: "directors and officers, in deciding upon matters of business, are presumed to act in good faith, on an informed basis and with a view to the interests of the...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Structured and Leveraged Buyout May Breach Fiduciary Obligations

Most mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy practitioners are well aware of the ever-increasing use of leveraged buy-out ("LBO") by publicly traded companies and private equity groups alike in highly structured liquidation...more

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