News & Analysis as of

Breach of Duty Shareholder Litigation

Hogan Lovells

Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital: fiduciary duties claims abound for SPAC sponsors and directors

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In Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital, the Delaware Court of Chancery found that a stockholder plaintiff pleaded a viable breach of fiduciary duty claim based on an alleged failure of the board of directors of a SPAC to disclose...more

Cooley LLP

In Rare Dismissal of Up-C Reorganization Case, Chancery Court Holds That Claim Is Derivative, Not Direct 

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On April 10, 2025, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss in a breach of fiduciary duty action arising from BGC’s conversion from an Up-C corporation to a traditional full C corporation. While multiple...more

Hogan Lovells

Landmark Victory secured for Asia Cement Corporation in Hong Kong High Court

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In civil litigation, the parties are strictly bound by their pleadings and it is not permissible to deviate from the same. Serious allegations of fraud or dishonesty must be pleaded distinctly and with the utmost...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Applies the American Rule and Denies Attorneys’ Fees Despite Fiduciary Breach

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In re Straight Path Commc’ns Inc. Consol. S’holder Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0486-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2024) - The Court of Chancery in this stockholder class action refused to award attorneys’ fees where the Court found the...more

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Governance Insights: Dual Fiduciaries – A Cautionary Tale for Nominee Directors

The latest edition of Davies’ Governance Insights is now available. In this issue, we review the Manti Holdings decision from Delaware. For boards, nominees and nominating shareholders, the decision is a reminder of the...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court: Chapter 7 Filing Defeats Shareholder Breach Of Fiduciary Claim

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Globe Photos, Inc. owned a portfolio of millions of images of celebrities and musicians, including Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, some taken by famous photographers such as Frank Worth.  Despite these assets,...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds Sufficiently Pled Fiduciary Duty Claims Relating to De-SPAC Transaction

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Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital LLC, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0469-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 18, 2024) - The Court of Chancery found that the plaintiff stated legally-sufficient claims in connection with a merger transaction against...more

Allen Matkins

Unreasonableness Or Carelessness Is Insufficient To Prove Liability In Nevada

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Nevada's exculpatory statute, NRS 78.138(7), requires a plaintiff to both rebut a statutory presumption of good faith and prove a breach of fiduciary duty involving intentional misconduct, fraud, or a knowing violation of the...more

Flaster Greenberg PC

Amendments to Delaware General Corporation Law

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On March 25, Delaware amended two (2) sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in response to reports that prominent corporations are considering leaving Delaware in light of several significant court...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds Defendant Breached Fiduciary Duties by Failing to Distribute Assets Equally During Dissolution of LLC

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Mehra v. Teller, C.A. No. 2019-0812-KSJM (Del. Ch. Sept. 20, 2024) - In this post-trial decision, the plaintiffs claimed that one of the defendants breached his fiduciary duties by failing to distribute assets equally at...more

Carey Olsen

Shareholder and director remedies under Bermuda law

Carey Olsen on

There are approximately 16,000 companies registered in Bermuda, of which approximately 14,000 are international companies. As a result, Bermuda is a jurisdiction which deals with a large number of corporate governance...more

Hicks Johnson

SCOTX Ruling Confirms Individual Liability for Corporate Owners Who Commit Torts

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In Texas, as most other states, it is long settled that corporate agents are personally liable for their own tortious or fraudulent conduct—even if the conduct was done in their capacity as a corporate agent. Section 21.223...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds that Would-Be Caremark Plaintiffs Failed to Plead Demand Futility

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Bricklayers Pension Fund of W. Pa. v. Brinkley, C.A. No. 2022-1118-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 12, 2024) - In derivative cases where a stockholder-plaintiff has not made a pre-suit demand on the board of directors, demand futility...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds That Demand Was Not Wrongfully Refused When Considered by Working Group

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In re Kraft Heinz Demand Refused Derivative Stockholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2022-0398-LWW (Del. Ch. July 19, 2024) - By making a demand, a stockholder-plaintiff tacitly concedes that the board can impartially consider...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery finds that stockholder ratification following adverse judgment does not absolve findings of breach of...

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Subsequent to the post-trial opinion by Chancellor McCormick in January 2024, Tesla appointed a new independent director to serve on a newly created independent committee, which issued a report recommending that stockholders...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

Allen Matkins

When Dismissing A Case Violates Due Process

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When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation.  Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Rejects ‘Caremark’ Liability for Imperfect Compliance With Legal Obligations

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Delaware corporations are not permitted to pursue profits by violating the law. Under Caremark and its progeny, directors’ fiduciary duties include the good faith obligation to oversee and monitor the corporation’s compliance...more

Allen Matkins

Just What Are The Duties Of A Controlling Shareholder And How Should Claims Of Breach Be Brought?

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In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders.  Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more

Hogan Lovells

In re Cognizant Technology: Third Circuit adopts de novo review for failure to plead demand futility

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In re Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Derivative Litigation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, sitting en banc, overruled its prior decision in Blasband v. Rales that applied an...more

Allen Matkins

Is Your Directors And Officers Liability Coverage Illusory?

Allen Matkins on

Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies.  Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides.  Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds Plaintiff Fails to Meet Rule 23.1 Pleading Standard, Dismisses Action Arising From T-Mobile Data Hack

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Harper v. Sievert, C.A. No. 2022-0819-SG (Del. Ch. May 31, 2024). A stockholder plaintiff brought derivative claims alleging that current and former directors of T-Mobile US, Inc. were liable for aggregating customers’...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses MFW Dismissal Due to Inadequate Disclosures Regarding Special Committee’s Advisors’ Material...

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City of Sarasota Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Inovalon Holdings Inc., No. 305, 2023 (Del. May 1, 2024). The Delaware Supreme Court’s decision in Khan v. M & F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”) established a cleansing process for a...more

Cooley LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Finally Dismisses a de-SPAC Complaint

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Since Vice Chancellor Lori Will’s seminal decision in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation in January 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery has seen a wave of lawsuits accusing special purpose acquisition companies...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Addresses Acquirer’s Request For Joint Tortfeasor Settlement Credit

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In re Columbia Pipeline Grp. Inc. Merger Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0484-JTL (Del. Ch. May 15, 2024) - In this post-trial decision, the Court addressed an acquirer’s responsibility for damages suffered by a stockholder...more

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