Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
On June 21, 2024, Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss a putative stockholder class action asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims against the officers and directors...more
On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association (“DSBA”) issued proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), which, if signed into law, would become...more
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
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
Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the third quarter of 2021. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. The...more
A stockholder complaining about a merger transaction materially enhances her prospects of overcoming a motion to dismiss if she can allege self-dealing by a controlling stockholder or that the transaction involves a change of...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
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including recent trends in Delaware corporate disclosure law, the Delaware Supreme Court’s important ruling in Marchand v....more
On August 28, 2019, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a shareholder’s demand under 8 Del. C. § 220 to inspect the books and records of defendant GGP Inc. for the purpose of...more
On May 15, 2019, Vice Chancellor Slights of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a ruling addressing important issues related to private company deal litigation. Specifically, the decision addressed when a release of claims...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
This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year 2018. Originally published in Transaction Advisors....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 2018, the Delaware courts issued a broad range of important decisions addressing various corporate law and governance issues. Those decisions are relevant for public and private companies and will help shape...more
In a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed a bankruptcy court order dismissing a chapter 11 case filed by a corporation without obtaining—as required by its corporate...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2018 and August 2018.... US Supreme Court - Supreme Court Holds That SEC Administrative Law Judges...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
Significant changes in Delaware merger litigation and settlement practice in 2016, as well as noteworthy case law developments and trends, will continue to affect merger parties and litigants in 2017 and beyond....more
There is a general perception that statutory appraisal challenges have been on the rise over the past several years. The Delaware Court of Chancery has issued a number of opinions during that time that use the merger price...more
Skadden and Erskine Chambers recently hosted a series of comparative corporate law events in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania Law School; Queen Mary University of London School of Law; New York University...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
This is another in a series of decisions dealing with the allegation that a minority stockholder controlled a deal through its control of a majority of the board of directors....more
We are pleased to share with you the inaugural issue of Insights: The Delaware Edition, a periodic publication addressing significant Delaware deal litigation and corporation law developments. In This Issue: - Q&A...more