Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
On May 23, 2025, in a significant decision with implications for future short-swing trading claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Court affirmed two district court decisions holding that a...more
Key Points - - While there have been some vocal critics of Delaware corporations law, few major companies have reincorporated in other states, and Delaware incorporation continues to offer substantial benefits to companies...more
In our second edition of MoFo’s quarterly federal securities and Delaware corporate litigation newsletter, we provide a rundown of select developments from the first quarter of 2025. The Ninth Circuit Confirms That...more
On Tuesday evening, following two hours of debate and five failed amendments, bipartisan Senate Bill 21 (“SB 21”) passed the Delaware House and was quickly signed by Delaware Governor Matt Meyer. SB 21, which, in part, was a...more
Controlling stockholders owe fiduciary duties to other stockholders that minority stockholders do not. A holder of over 50% of a corporation’s voting power is clearly a controlling stockholder. As a consequence, transactions...more
In this issue, we explore ongoing corporate law issues involving controlling stockholders, with significant decisions anticipated from the Delaware Supreme Court in 2025; the rise in litigation over earnout provisions in...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed a “hybrid” of Malone1 false disclosures and Caremark oversight claims brought by two stockholder plaintiffs. In In re FibroGen, Inc. Derivative Litigation,2 Vice Chancellor...more
In January 2022, Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a groundbreaking opinion in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation that paved the way for SPAC stockholders to bring direct breach of...more
In this issue, we cover regulatory developments from the fourth quarter of 2023 impacting the investment management sector, including the use of shareholder rights plans as an alternative to state control share statutes....more
In Tola v. Bryant, No. 16150, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 241 (Cal. App. Mar. 24, 2022), the First Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal applied Delaware’s new formulation of the test for determining whether a...more
In 2021, there were 613 initial public offerings (“IPOs”) of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”), after 248 SPACs went public in 2020 and 59 in 2019. Prior to 2021, there had not been more than 500 IPOs of any...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
SCOTUS Vacates Class Certification In Suit Against Goldman Sachs And Clarifies Appropriate Scope Of Price Impact Evidence; Stockholders Strike $110 Million Settlement In Suit Alleging Breaches Of Fiduciary Duties By Former...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
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...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
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
In two recent decisions, City of Miami General Employees’ & Sanitation Employees’ Retirement Trust v. Comstock, C.A. No. 9980-CB, 2016 Del. Ch. LEXIS 133 (Del. Ch. Aug. 24, 2016) (Bouchard, C.) (“Comstock”), and Larkin v....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
In a recent decision in an appraisal action, the Delaware Chancery Court reaffirmed the Court’s reluctance to substitute its own calculation of the “fair value” of a target company’s stock for the purchase price derived...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
This issue of Inside the Courts, Skadden’s securities litigation newsletter, includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2015 and August 2015. The cases address...more
In one of the largest ever M&A-related recoveries for shareholders, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster ordered Dole Food Company, Inc.’s Chairman and CEO, David Murdock, and Dole’s former President, COO and General Counsel, C....more