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Business Litigation Shareholders Fiduciary Duty

Jones Day

Court of Chancery Grants Rare Motion to Dismiss Suit Governed by Entire Fairness Standard

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The electric vehicle company Canoo went public in a de-SPAC transaction in December 2020. After its stock price fell, a stockholder in the SPAC who chose not to redeem his stock sued the SPAC board and its controller for...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Limo Company Shareholders Can't Hitch a Ride in Derivative Litigation

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Closely-held business entities come in all shapes and sizes. By definition, under Partnership Law § 10, it takes “two or more” owners to form a general partnership. But corporations and LLCs have no such impediment, ranging...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Enforcing the Guardrails on Transactions Involving Interested Directors of Close Corporations

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In my business divorce practice I deal with many closely held corporations that have only a few or perhaps just two shareholders, each of whom is actively involved in running the business. Within that category are many...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery’s Rescission of Elon Musk’s US$55.8 Billion Pay Package Signals Expansion of Scrutiny into Potential...

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The Delaware Court of Chancery issued a post-trial opinion, on January 30, 2024, in Tornetta v. Musk, holding that Tesla’s board of directors (the “Board”) breached its fiduciary duties in awarding CEO Elon Musk (with the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2023

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Some years are easier than others to select the most significant business divorce cases. In this, the 16th year I’ve published this top-10 list, the task is made especially difficult by a veritable flood of court decisions...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

At-Will Employment Agreement Plus Mandatory Redemption Clause Leaves Minority Shareholder-Employees Out in the Cold

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

MiniCorp has five shareholders, all of whom are employees.  Each shareholder’s employment agreement states that they are an at-will employee of MiniCorp, and the shareholders agreement provides that when a shareholder’s...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Clarifies Heightened Standard for Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees in Disclosure-Based Deal Litigation

In Anderson v. Magellan Health, Inc., No. 2021-0202, — A.3d —-, 2023 WL 4364524 (Del. Ch. July 6, 2023) (McCormick, C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery addressed the circumstances under which the Court will award a...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Can One 50% Shareholder Sue the Other in the Company Name on the Company Dollar? Answer: It Depends

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In the menagerie of closely held companies, those owned and controlled by 50/50 business partners pose unique benefits and challenges. On the benefit side, co-equal ownership and control can foster cooperation,...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

Without Equal? Pennsylvania Federal Court Charts New Path, Rules Fiduciary Duty Exists Between 50/50 Co-owners Of A Business

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

There is arguably no more prevalent legal claim in business divorces than a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty. Simply put (and I do mean simply), when one person owes a fiduciary duty to another, the person with the duty...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The “Conflict of Interest” Defense to Shareholder Derivative Standing

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In shareholder derivative litigation, defendants occasionally argue that the plaintiff – who ostensibly sues on behalf of the company and its owners in a fiduciary capacity – has some form of conflict of interest with the...more

Conyers

Cayman Islands Restructuring: Recent Common Law Insights for Directors when Entering the Zone of Insolvency

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Conyers partner Jonathon Milne and associate Rowana-Kay Campbell in the Cayman Islands, and partner Anna Lin in Hong Kong, explain why the new Cayman restructuring regime is likely to be a welcome addition to the legislative...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Business Divorce, Brooklyn Style

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The pictured architectural rendering of the sunlit Kings County Supreme Courthouse at 360 Adams Street, completed in 1957, doesn’t quite capture the reality of its dour, hulking presence in downtown Brooklyn. Its design...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Borer Decision and Potential Impacts to ANCs

On April 1, 2022, the Alaska Supreme Court issued Borer v. The Eyak Corporation, which may impact Alaska Native Corporation boards of directors and their corporate governance structures and policies. Courts only resolve...more

McDermott Will & Emery

The Significance of Recent Delaware Court of Chancery SPAC Opinions

Highlighted below are several recent opinions from the Delaware Court of Chancery relating to special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that provide helpful guidance to sponsors, investors and practitioners. These cases...more

Winstead PC

Litigating Minority Shareholder Rights - Presentation

Winstead PC on

David F. Johnson presented his paper “Business Divorce: Minority Shareholder Rights In Texas” to the State Bar of Texas’s Business Disputes Course on September 2-3, 2021. This presentation addressed shareholder oppression...more

Goodwin

Massachusetts Superior Court BLS Finds No Duty To Disclose Alleged Preliminary Merger Discussions

Goodwin on

Massachusetts Superior Court BLS Finds No Duty to Disclose Alleged Preliminary Merger Discussions, Northern District of California Declines to Dismiss Oracle Fraud Class Action Suit, SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument in Goldman...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Another Door Closes to Federal Court in Judicial Dissolution Cases

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Not for the first time, I find myself intrigued by the federal courts’ resistance to hearing state law claims for judicial dissolution of business entities where subject matter jurisdiction otherwise exists based on diversity...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Fiduciary Duties of Dissenting Directors and their Boards – Stobart v Tinkler

In Stobart v Tinkler [2019] EWHC 258 (Comm), the high court has taken an extremely restricted view of the freedom of a dissident director to take his case outside the boardroom. At the same time, the court largely endorsed...more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Explains Proper Evidence To Support Inspection Claim

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In Re UnitedHealth Group Inc. Section 220 Litigation, C.A. 2017-0681-VCMR (February 28, 2018) - To obtain inspection rights from a Delaware corporation to investigate alleged wrongdoing, the petitioner needs some evidence...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year In Review – 2017

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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 changed the law in a...more

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