Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
On January 20, 2026, in an opinion authored by Justice Gary F. Traynor, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery that had invalidated certain provisions in a stockholder agreement...more
Nearly a year ago, Delaware passed Senate Bill 21 (SB 21) into law, enacting sweeping amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The amendments included changes to the safe harbors for interested transactions...more
On December 19, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Court of Chancery’s decision rescinding Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation package, thereby restoring to Musk an award that is now worth more than $100 billion....more
In 2025, Delaware, Texas, and Nevada enacted corporate law changes that reshape fiduciary liability and stockholder litigation risk. Our Financial Services Litigation and Securities Litigation Teams outline how these reforms...more
For Delaware corporate governance litigators, 2025 ended where it began. In this second installment of Season's Readings, we look back at some significant decisions from Delaware courts. At the beginning of 2025, the singular...more
On December 19, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a significant decision in the long-running litigation over Tesla’s 2018 equity compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, overturning the cancellation of his option grants....more
In January 2018, Tesla granted a “moonshot” award to Elon Musk, its founder, chair, and CEO. The award represented the largest equity award ever granted to a public company executive, anticipated to have an approximate value...more
In Ameriguard Security Services, Inc. & Garcia v. Anderson, et al., Judge Maria Gall of Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District’s Business Court found that absent fraud or manifest error, the certified stockholder list maintained...more
For business owners in Ohio, the corporate form provides a fundamental protection: limited liability. This legal shield separates personal assets from business debts and obligations, allowing entrepreneurs to take calculated...more
On December 3, 2025, Chief Justice Collins Seitz, on behalf of the Delaware Supreme Court sitting en banc, upheld the Court of Chancery’s award of nominal damages in an action against a conflicted controller for breach of his...more
The business judgment rule is a common-law principle that generally prohibits courts from questioning the propriety of actions taken by corporate directors and officers, provided those actions are taken in good faith, with...more
In recent years, you may have seen an apocryphal quote that says something like: “There are decades when nothing happens, and years when decades happen.” For the legal frameworks that matter to D&O litigation risk—federal...more
For years, Delaware has been the default domicile for growing late-stage companies (and most companies generally, for that matter). For the reasons detailed in these CapitalXchange posts from June 2025 and September 2025,...more
On November 6, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of a shareholder derivative suit challenging a substantial stock option grant awarded to the co-founder and CEO of The Trade Desk,...more
Thinking about where to incorporate your company? While Delaware has long been the go-to choice for startups formed as corporations in the US, we’ve observed that recent changes in the legal landscape and statements by public...more
As a founder, where you form your business matters. The most commonly selected state is Delaware. However, increasingly founders are considering states other than Delaware like Texas, Nevada and Wyoming. ...more
A high-profile discussion has continued among many in the market over the status of Delaware as the favored state of incorporation compared to other states. Nevada and Texas have continued to engage in competitive efforts and...more
Ban v. Manheim, C.A. No. 2022-0768-JTL (Del. Ch. May 19, 2025) - In this post-trial decision, the Court of Chancery held that a controlling stockholder’s exercise of redemption and call rights that eliminated a minority...more
Texas is in the spotlight after several companies chose to move their legal home from Delaware to Texas. In 2025, Texas overhauled the Texas Business Organizations Code (the TBOC) to make the state more attractive for...more
The number and total aggregate amount of settlements in merger and acquisition (M&A)-related lawsuits in the Delaware Court of Chancery have increased substantially since 2019, according to a new report released today by...more
Texas has reshaped its corporate landscape through four landmark laws designed to provide businesses in Texas with greater governance flexibility and reduced litigation risk....more
When a creditor who also owns significant equity exercises rights to foreclose because the debtor company is unable to meet its debt obligations, issues can arise as to whether the creditor/stockholder owes fiduciary duties...more
For decades, Delaware has been the default choice for incorporation – either at formation or in anticipation of an initial public offering (IPO). As we noted in this June 2025 CapitalXchange article, recent developments have...more
In our March article ‘O-H!’ ‘I-N-C!’, we explored why several well-known companies, including Tesla and TripAdvisor, are leaving Delaware and why Ohio presents a compelling alternative. Since then, Delaware has responded with...more
Can a company dismiss its CEO after the controlling shareholder changes? This was the central question in a recent proceeding in which we represented an employer and its new controlling shareholder....more