Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
New Dynamic for Corporations and Controlling Stockholders- On Feb. 27, the Delaware Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the state's major revision to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) that...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 November 5, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that could reshape Delaware’s corporate law landscape. At issue is Senate Bill 21 (SB 21)—a sweeping amendment to the Delaware General Corporation...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
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
Introduction - Companies thinking about, preparing for or going through the initial public offering (IPO) process have many things to do and many decisions to make (to put it mildly!). A relatively recent addition to this...more
On May 9, 2025, in Roofers Local 149 Pension Fund v. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. et al., the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a pre-trial motion to dismiss, even though the claims alleged a conflicted controller...more
Turnbull v. Klein, C.A. No. 2023-1125-BWD (Del. Ch. Jan. 31, 2025) - One way a plaintiff can rebut the business judgment rule is by pleading a conflicted controller transaction....more
In re Oracle Corp. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337 (Del. Jan. 21, 2025) - The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in favor of the defendants in a derivative suit challenging Oracle’s acquisition of...more
Yesterday’s post concerned the recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Eskridge in Rowe v. Doris, 2025 WL 963590 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 31, 2025). The case involved claims arising from the merger of two Nevada...more
The Delaware Legislature passed, and Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed on March 25, 2025, the landmark Senate Bill 21. Senate Bill 21 amends the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL") in significant ways, with broad...more
On January 21, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Lit., finding that a less than 50% stockholder does not owe fiduciary duties absent evidence of either...more
In In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Supreme Court held that the dual procedural protections announced in the seminal case of Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp. (MFW) are required in order to shift the...more
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
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
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
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
On October 30, 2019, the Delaware Court of Chancery struck a major blow against the plaintiffs’ bar’s efforts to lower the statutory hurdle to maintaining stockholder derivative claims. A stockholder of Ultragenyx...more
On February 20, 2019, Skadden held a webinar titled “2019 M&A and Corporate Litigation Trends.” The panelists were litigation partner and Delaware litigation practice leader Edward Micheletti and litigation counsel Jenness...more
The Delaware courts issued a number of significant decisions in 2018 that are likely to have ripple effects throughout 2019. Among them were a series of cases that further developed the parameters of the Corwin and MFW...more
In another significant M&A decision from the New York Supreme Court, the controlling stockholder of a Delaware corporation failed to obtain judicial deference under the so-called "MFW" framework for its merger with the...more
This quarter's issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2017 and January 2018. The cases address developing trends in appraisal, class certification, core...more
On December 29, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to extend the ruling in Corwin by finding that the approval of a merger by a vote of the disinterested stockholders does not act as an impediment to a properly...more
This update provides a summary of recent Delaware caselaw and statutory developments concerning mergers and acquisitions, including new cases regarding appraisal rights, fraud claims and fiduciary duty and deal process...more