Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
On December 19, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned the rescission of Elon Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation grant and instead awarded nominal damages and substantially reduced attorneys’ fees. The case stemmed from a...more
In a much-anticipated decision issued on December 19, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s rescission of Elon Musk’s 2018 equity compensation package and, as a result, significantly cut...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
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
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
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
On April 10, 2025, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss in a breach of fiduciary duty action arising from BGC’s conversion from an Up-C corporation to a traditional full C corporation. While multiple...more
Gentile v. Rossette, 906 A.2d 91, 100 (Del. 2006), held that dilution claims involving a controller can be both derivative and direct. In Gentile, the Delaware Supreme Court found that dilution claims, challenging a...more
In Kahn v. M&F Worldwide, 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014) (MFW), the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a controlling stockholder transaction involving a freeze-out merger, which is structured to include approval by a well-functioning...more
On April 4, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated decision, In re Match Group Derivative Litigation (“In re Match Group”), extending the MFW doctrine more broadly to all conflicted controller...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
On April 4, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued its opinion in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, clarifying that the heightened entire fairness standard of review applies to judicial review of any transaction...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently weighed key issues under state law involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty in several challenged corporate transactions. Perfection Is Not Expected: Court Finds Flawed...more
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
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
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
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
Sheldon v. Pinto Technology Ventures, L.P., No. 81, 2019 (Del. Oct. 4, 2019). The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of an alleged direct claim for dilution of the voting and economic...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
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
Corporate Governance and Securities Law Developments - Directors Can Be Held Liable for Failure to Oversee “Mission Critical” Regulatory Compliance - On October 1, the Delaware Court of Chancery refused to dismiss a...more
Board oversight of significant company risk areas and legal compliance deserves renewed attention, as the Delaware Supreme Court recently ruled that monitoring practices that have previously been considered acceptable may...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
A director’s duty to make a good faith effort to oversee the operations and management of a Delaware company is well-established. In a recent case, Marchand v. Barnhill, the Delaware Supreme Court provided guidance to boards...more