Litigation developments: core M&A and corporate governance doctrines
Compliance Perspectives: Due Diligence and Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO)
In the first quarter of 2024, Delaware courts issued several noteworthy opinions. The Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Fox Corporation/Snap Inc. that corporations do not need to seek votes from each stockholder class to...more
In the case of Carvana Co. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery followed the special litigation committee’s (SLC’s) recommendation and dismissed a stockholder complaint alleging that the company’s...more
On January 17, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a significant decision affirming that the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) does not require companies with multiple classes of common stock to obtain separate...more
In late 2021 and early 2022, two decisions from the Court of Chancery addressing advance notice bylaws reiterated, consistent with long-standing Delaware law, that clear and unambiguous advance notice bylaws will be...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
MultiPlan: Chancery court assesses fiduciary duties in the context of de-SPAC transactions - The Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss, at the pleading stage, breach of fiduciary duty claims made against a SPAC's...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
On October 29, 2021, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duties brought by stockholders of BioDelivery Sciences International,...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
Yesterday, I listed to a talk by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery entitled "Purpose, Power, and Fiduciary Duty: Dimensions of Delaware's Corporate Law Regime". The webinar was presented by...more
The federal government has introduced proposed regulations that would, among other things, change the director election process for certain corporations established under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). The...more
On October 2, 2020, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss breach of fiduciary duty claims brought by stockholders of Mindbody, Inc. (the “Company”) against two of...more
In this recent post, UCLA Law School Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster's recent ruling that "stockholder inspection rights are a core matter of internal corporate affairs." 2020 Del....more
On August 13, 2020, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster held that defendant, a stockholder of plaintiff JUUL Labs, Inc., did not have the right to seek inspection of books and records of the Delaware corporation under any state...more
The first half of 2019 saw several decisions from the Delaware courts that will affect M&A dealmaking - Aruba: Supreme Court awards "deal price less synergies" in closely watched appraisal case - Rejecting the Chancery...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
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
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently addressed important issues concerning the information rights of directors designated by a significant stockholder, as well as a board committee's ability to withhold information from...more
In Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC, No. 629, 2014 (Del. Oct. 2, 2015), the Delaware Supreme Court sitting en banc unanimously affirmed the Delaware Court of Chancery decision that the voluntary judgment of the fully...more
The Delaware Chancery Court ordered Dole Food Co. Inc. CEO David Murdock and General Counsel Michael Carter to pay Dole shareholders $148 million for fraud in connection with the company’s 2013 take-private deal. The August...more
In this issue: - Delaware Supreme Court Upholds Chancery Court Ruling that Applied Business Judgment Rule to Going Private Transaction with Controlling Stockholder - Amendments to Uniform Branch Office...more
On Friday, March 14th, the Delaware Supreme Court held that controlling stockholder mergers should be subject to deferential business judgment review, rather than the more stringent entire fairness standard, where minority...more