Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
Eckert v. Hightower, C.A. No. 2024-0569-MTZ (Del. Ch. Mar. 24, 2025) - A board of directors approved compensation packages for the company’s CEO, who also was its controlling stockholder. The CEO was a member of the...more
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
On September 23, 2021—in United Food and Commercial Workers v. Zuckerberg—the Delaware Supreme Court endorsed a new universal three-part demand futility test. The decision will likely have far-reaching consequences, including...more
A derivative claim for harm befalling a corporation belongs to the corporation itself. Under the state’s board-centric model of corporate governance, Delaware law empowers the board of directors to control such claims,...more
In re BGC Partners, Inc. Derivative Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0722-AGB (Del. Ch. Sept. 30, 2019). A stockholder plaintiff seeking to bring a derivative claim on behalf of a corporation must first demand authorization...more
Delaware law provides important tools for directors to maintain control of derivative lawsuits.1 One such tool is the “demand requirement” embodied in Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, which requires that before a stockholder acts...more
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an important decision on the subject of director independence. In Sandys v. Pincus, No. 157, 2016 (Del. Dec. 5, 2016), the Delaware Supreme Court held that certain directors of...more
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including the Court of Chancery’s clarification of its evolving views about disclosure-based deal litigation settlements;...more