Nonprofit Basics: Amending Nonprofit Corporation Bylaws
Litigation developments: federal forum provisions
Meritas Capability Webinar - Controlling Where to Fight and Who Pays for it?
Rules for rewarding 'super' condo board members
On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court of Delaware, en banc, issued an important decision in Kellner v. AIM Immunotech Inc.,1 which arose from a challenge in the Delaware Court of Chancery involving advance notice bylaws that...more
When do controlling stockholders, exercising their voting power or selling stock, owe fiduciary duties to a Delaware corporation and its minority stockholders? This thorny question in corporate law may have a new answer...more
On January 17, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a significant decision affirming that the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) does not require companies with multiple classes of common stock to obtain separate...more
We’ve all read countless headlines and articles about the removal and swift return of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI over the past several weeks. Simply put, the nonprofit board voted to remove Altman as a result of a...more
Forum-selection provisions have become an increasingly common tool for managing corporate litigation risks. By including these provisions in their charters or bylaws, corporations can designate an exclusive forum — most...more
Ten years ago, I questioned in this space whether a Delaware forum selection charter provision would survive constitutional scrutiny if it involved a de facto waiver of a jury trial...more
One popular theory of the corporation is that it is a nexus of contracts. As Frank Easterbrook and Daniel Fischel pithily pronounced "Corporations are enduring (relational) contracts." F. Easterbrook and D. Fischel, The...more
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion that makes it more difficult for shareholders to bring Section 11 claims against companies that go public via direct listings. The case involved a...more
In a recent 6-5 ruling, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a derivative suit asserting Exchange Act violations against The Gap, Inc. and its directors. The district court had dismissed the suit —...more
Garfield v. Boxed Inc., C.A. No. 2022-0132-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 27, 2022). Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL requires the separate approval of different classes of stock for charter amendments that, inter alia, “increase or...more
In late 2021 and early 2022, two decisions from the Court of Chancery addressing advance notice bylaws reiterated, consistent with long-standing Delaware law, that clear and unambiguous advance notice bylaws will be...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently agreed to rehear en banc the dismissal—based on a Delaware exclusive forum selection bylaw provision—of a shareholder derivative suit asserting violations of Section 14(a) of the...more
S’holders Rep. Serv. LLC v. DC Capital Partners Fund II, L.P., C.A. No. 2021-0465-KSJM (Del. Ch. Feb. 14, 2022) - While the Court of Chancery has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over claims and remedies sounding in...more
On July 29, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a noteworthy decision confirming the broad application of the "MFW" framework—based on the Delaware Supreme Court's decision in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635...more
On June 16, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted declaratory judgment in favor of plaintiffs — four members of the board of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), including...more
In this issue we discuss how plaintiffs are finding creative ways to obtain books and records, and appraisal cases where Delaware courts held that fair value rose between signing and closing. Other articles describe how the...more
In early 2020, in BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Tr., et al. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd., the Delaware Supreme Court reiterated that Delaware courts will enforce clear and unambiguous advance notice bylaws according...more
Earlier this year the United States Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Ninth Circuits each addressed the question of whether an exclusive forum provision adopted by a Delaware company and requiring derivative litigation...more
As we have previously discussed, Lee v. Robert J. Fisher et al., Case No. 20 Civ. 6163 (N.D. Ca.), is one of a growing number of derivative lawsuits brought against public companies (in this case, The Gap Inc.) alleging...more
The Seventh Circuit issued a resounding message: Delaware forum selection clauses in corporate bylaws cannot lawfully prevent a plaintiff from bringing claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act or the...more
Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the fourth quarter of 2021. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis....more
A U.S. Appeals Court has struck down a company's bylaw requiring that all shareholder derivative suits be filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court, finding the provision effectively eliminated claims under the Securities Exchange...more
A recent ruling by the Seventh Circuit in Seafarers Pension Plan v. Bradway addresses the issue of where shareholder derivative lawsuits may be filed when the company at issue has a forum selection clause in its bylaws. The...more
As discussed in a previous client alert, The Boeing Company (Boeing) has faced shareholder litigation arising from the fatal crashes of two 737 MAX airplanes. In one such derivative suit filed under Section 14(a) of the...more
In Manti Holdings, LLC v. Authentix Acquisition Co., Inc., No. 354, 2020, 2021 WL 4165159 (Del. Sept. 13, 2021), the Delaware Supreme Court issued an important opinion affirming the use of stockholders agreements by and among...more