News & Analysis as of

Business Judgment Rule Shareholder Litigation

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

MFW Framework Inapplicable Where Conflicts Are Not Adequately Disclosed to Stockholders

Following other recent decisions addressing the applicability and scope of Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”), including In re Match Group Inc., Derivative Litigation and Tornetta v. Musk, on May 1, 2024, the Delaware...more

Goodwin

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Boards Must Satisfy the MFW Framework in Controller Transactions to Obtain Business Judgment...

Goodwin on

In 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court held in Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”) that a court will apply the entire fairness standard of review to freeze-out merger transactions between a controlled corporation and its...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

M&A in Brief: Q1 2024

In a letter ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court held that where neither the target nor the acquiror was a Delaware entity, the transaction documents between the parties could not confer jurisdiction in the Chancery Court...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Conflictos de interés en Colombia, nueva regulación

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En este episodio de "A Lo Legal En Par Minutos", nuestro abogado Edwin Cortés habla con Daniel Fajardo, abogado corporativo, sobre la novedosa regulación en conflictos de interés, en particular la ampliación de la definición...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

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

Venable LLP

Supreme Court of Maryland Overrules Prior Distinction Between Director’s Managerial and Non-Managerial Duties and Reaffirms That...

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In one of the most significant Maryland corporate law cases in several years, involving an inter-generational family contest between (a) a 28% stockholder and former director and employee (“Mekhaya”) and (b) the corporation...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

Goodwin

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

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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

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

Hogan Lovells

In re Tesla: fair price may ameliorate procedural defects under entire fairness review - Corporate / M&A Decisions update series

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Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation arises out of Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity, a market leader in manufacturing and installing solar energy generation systems. On two occasions in 2015 and 2016, Elon Musk suggested to...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Clears Musk of Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

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On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more

BCLP

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

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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

Delaware Court of Chancery Issues First Decision Addressing Directors’ Fiduciary Duties in a De-SPAC Merger

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The Delaware Court of Chancery addressed for the first time fundamental precepts of Delaware law in the context of a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) on January 3, 2021. In In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders...more

Freeman Law

The Business Judgment Rule in Texas

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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

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Delaware’s New Universal Demand-Futility Test

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On Sept. 23, the Delaware Supreme Court endorsed a new universal three-part demand-futility test in United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Fund v. Zuckerberg, et...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

The Business Judgment Rule Cannot Preclude Statutory Inspection Rights

Womble Bond Dickinson on

Where a corporation’s board of directors decided to take a particular course of action that was unpopular with a shareholder, the board could not invoke the business judgment rule to prevent the shareholder’s statutory right...more

Stinson - Corporate & Securities Law Blog

Votes Compelled by Stockholders Agreement Do Not Count Towards Corwin Cleansing

In connection with an M&A transaction, in In Re Pattern Energy Group Inc. Stockholders Litigation the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that that the plaintiff had stated a claim against the director defendants for breach...more

Winstead PC

Court Addressed A Shareholder Derivative Suit Against Officers And Directors For Self-Interested Transactions, Misuse Of Company...

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In Roels v. Valkenaar, a shareholder filed a shareholder derivative suit against former and current officers and directors of the company based on multiple claims of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 03-19-00502-CV, 2020 Tex....more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Further Clarifies the “Ab Initio” Requirement in Finding That Discussions Between the Controlling...

In In re HomeFed Corp. Stockholder Litigation (“HomeFed”), the Delaware Court of Chancery considered on a motion to dismiss whether a squeeze-out merger by a controlling stockholder complied with the procedural framework set...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Board Guidance: Getting To Business Judgment Rule Deference When You Have A Controlling Stockholder

IN RE DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC. CLASS V STOCKHOLDERS LITIGATION There has been a growing deference in Delaware courts for transactions approved by independent special committees and minority stockholders. In the context of a...more

Troutman Pepper

Fraud on the Board: Material Conflicts Must Be Disclosed to the Board to Warrant Business Judgment Review

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A recent decision by the Delaware Supreme Court emphasizes the importance of fully disclosing material director and officer conflicts of interest in connection with proposed M&A transactions. Indeed, as the Court’s ruling...more

White and Williams LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Holds That a Transaction Involving a Conflicted Board Majority Can Be Cleansed If Appropriate Safeguards...

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In a legal challenge to a corporate transaction, the applicable standard of review is often outcome determinative. The deferential business judgment rule applies where the board is not majority conflicted. The burden is on...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds That A Special Committee Must Be Constituted Ab Initio In Order To Cleanse A Transaction...

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On February 27, 2020, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III denied a motion to dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by a former stockholder of Intersections, Inc. (the “Company”), challenging the take-private...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

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