News & Analysis as of

Controlling Stockholders Board of Directors Shareholders

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Finds a ~27% Founding Stockholder Is Not a Controller

On July 2, 2024, the Delaware Chancery Court in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca dismissed stockholder claims in connection with the $3 billion merger of Viela Bio and Horizon Therapeutics in 2021. The merger was approved by Viela’s...more

Hogan Lovells

Q1 2024 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

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In the first quarter of 2024, Delaware courts issued several noteworthy opinions. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Fox Corporation/Snap Inc. that corporations do not need to seek votes from each stockholder class to...more

Hogan Lovells

Palkon v. Maffei: Court permits suit challenging conversion to Nevada corporation

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In Palkon v. Maffei, the Delaware Court of Chancery permitted stockholders to pursue claims that the board of directors of TripAdvisor breached their fiduciary duties in converting TripAdvisor from a Delaware corporation to a...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Co.: An Affirmation of Statutory Board Authority

The Delaware Court of Chancery decided two cases recently that may have a significant impact on future corporate action, in each stressing the need for corporate actors to follow statutory requirements, even when in potential...more

Mayer Brown

Delaware Chancery Court Invalidates Common Stockholder Agreement Provisions

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In the recent decision West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that certain provisions of a stockholder agreement contravened...more

Foley Hoag LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Invalidates Certain Rights in Stockholder Agreement Sidelining Board of Directors

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On February 23, 2024, the Court issued an opinion3 invalidating certain provisions of a stockholder agreement, which, in part, contractually constrain the Board’s discretion to exercise control over the business and affairs...more

Jones Day

Controlling Stockholder Exercising Voting Power as Stockholder to "Change the Status Quo" Owes Fiduciary Duties

Jones Day on

The Background: After unsuccessfully trying to convince the special committee not to implement a plan to liquidate a business line, which the controlling stockholder believed would destroy value, the controlling stockholder...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

A&O Shearman

Was the richest person in the world overpaid?

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Chancellor Kathleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery grappled with this question in a recent derivative lawsuit challenging Tesla’s performance-based equity award with a potential USD55.8 billion maximum value and...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Orders Recission of Elon Musk Moonshot Grant in Important Case on Transactions with Potential Corporate...

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Background on Moonshot Award Practices - In the years leading up to the slowdown in the IPO markets in late 2021, it had become increasingly common for high-growth technology companies to grant large equity incentive...more

Dechert LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Identifies Fiduciary Duties and Standard of Review for Controlling Stockholder

Dechert LLP on

In a landmark decision, In re Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores, Inc. Stockholder Litigation,1 the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a controlling stockholder did not breach his fiduciary duties when he amended company bylaws...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Important Ruling for Multi-Class Companies Concerning Class Votes

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

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Busted Deals’ and Damages: Court of Chancery Clarifies Who Can Recover ‘Lost-Premium’ Damages

In October 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Court of Chancery addressed an issue of first impression in Crispo v. Musk, C.A. No 2022-0666-KSJM, holding that “a provision purporting to define a target...more

A&O Shearman

Addressing The Enforceability Of Con Ed Provisions In Merger Agreements, Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Petition For...

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On October 31, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued final judgment denying a petition for a mootness fee award to a stockholder—who had previously asserted claims for breach of...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Proposed Changes to Delaware Law Would Facilitate Ratification of Defective Corporate Acts, Disposition of Pledged Assets, Stock...

The proposed 2023 amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) approved by the Delaware State Bar Association are intended to address a number of practical issues facing corporations and their counsel and to...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery Finds Revlon Violation For Founder Who Favored Buyer And Failed To Disclose, And Aiding & Abetting...

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On March 15, 2022, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that the founder and former CEO of Mindbody Inc. (the “Company”) breached his fiduciary duties to stockholders in connection with the...more

A&O Shearman

Pair Of Delaware Chancery Court Decisions Deny Motions To Dismiss SPAC Shareholder’s Fiduciary Breach Claims, Following MultiPlan

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On January 4, 2023, and again on March 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied motions to dismiss claims against directors and controlling shareholders of GigCapital-affiliated special...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Advancing Forward — Delaware Courts Provide Further Guidance on Incumbent Board Enforcement of Advance Notice Bylaws

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

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claims Alleging Breaches Of Fiduciary Duty Following A Cyberattack

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On September 6, 2022, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty brought by stockholders of a software company (the...more

White & Case LLP

Notable decisions from Delaware courts

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MultiPlan: Chancery court assesses fiduciary duties in the context of de-SPAC transactions - The Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss, at the pleading stage, breach of fiduciary duty claims made against a SPAC's...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Delaware Court Applies Entire Fairness Standard to MultiPlan de-SPAC

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The decision adopts enhanced scrutiny of director fiduciary duties for de-SPAC transactions, but suggests dismissal may be appropriate when stockholders exercise redemption rights on a fully informed basis. On January 3,...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Derivative Claims Challenging Stock Sale Allegedly Based On Adverse Nonpublic Information For...

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On December 15, 2021, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed stockholder derivative claims for breaches of fiduciary duty asserted on behalf The Kraft Heinz Company (the “Company”) against an...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Sustains Class Action Claims For Breaches Of Fiduciary Duties And Aiding And Abetting Arising From...

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On January 3, 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery largely denied a motion to dismiss a putative class action brought by the stockholders of Churchill Capital Corp. III, a special purpose...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Declines To Dismiss Derivative Claims, Finding Wrongful Refusal Of Demand Adequately Pleaded

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On October 29, 2021, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duties brought by stockholders of BioDelivery Sciences International,...more

Locke Lord LLP

Delaware Clarifies Its Rules Governing Stockholder Derivative Actions

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Derivative actions play an important role in policing corporate insider conduct and compliance by directors and controlling stockholders with their fiduciary duties. A derivative action enables a stockholder, upon...more

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