Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 167: Listen and Learn -- Direct and Derivative Actions (Corporations)
Board Diversity Podcast
Securities Litigation and Disclosure Issues
Podcast: CFTC Issues LIBOR Transition Relief for Swaps
On May 14, 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed Texas Senate Bill 29 (SB29) into law. This legislation introduces notable amendments to the Texas Business Organizations Code (TBOC) and is part of a broader strategy to...more
Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Texas Senate Bill 29, which includes a comprehensive package of amendments to the Texas Business Organizations Code aimed at reinforcing and revitalizing the governance...more
On May 14, 2025, Texas Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 29 (“S.B. 29”) into law, significantly reforming the Texas Business Organizations Code (“TBOC”) to promote Texas as a preferred state of incorporation for both public...more
Derivative suits are a topic of discussion that continues to challenge directors, officers, and insurers alike. The issue is particularly fraught for individual directors and officers because Delaware-incorporated companies...more
On February 27, 2025, Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) filed Senate Bill 29 (S.B. 29), proposing several corporate reforms designed to ensure that Texas remains the premier business-friendly jurisdiction in the nation. If...more
If you have ever been to the Flora-Bama, chances are you have passed by the Caribe Resort in Orange Beach, AL. The Caribe, like many beach resorts, is a condominium building containing individually owned residential units...more
In an opinion issued just after Christmas, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster ruled that a derivative lawsuit may proceed against the directors and officers of Fox Corporation. The plaintiffs are claiming that the directors...more
As we previously reported, in January 2024, the Court held in a stockholder derivative suit against the CEO and directors of a sustainable energy and electric vehicle company (the “Company”) that a record-setting $55.8...more
Under California Penal Code Section 496(a) a person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or...more
When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation. Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more
In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders. Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more
The Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation (April 4, 2024) addressed two issues of significance to transactions of Delaware corporations involving their controlling...more
Next, I explore the TD Bank AML/BSA enforcement action by looking at the expansion of the Caremark Doctrine. In the McDonald’s case, the Delaware Court of Chancery took the Caremark Doctrine further by applying the Duty of...more
Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies. Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides. Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more
Last year, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster famously held that officers could be subject to liability under the Caremark doctrine. In re McDonald’s Corp., 289 A.3d 343 (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2023). The Caremark doctrine...more
All empires eventually decline. For decades, Delaware has held the crown as the premier state of incorporation for domestic companies (and many foreign companies seeking a foothold in the United States capital markets). But...more
A recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Battaglia addresses whether demand futility is an affirmative defense that must be asserted in an answer or raised in a motion to dismiss. In re Franklin Wireless, 2024...more
In In re Match Group, Inc. Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Supreme Court answered some important questions about the standard of review applicable to conflicted transactions under Delaware law. The first question relates...more
This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year. Our criteria for selection are that the decision either meaningfully changed...more
On December 12, 2023, the Harvard Corporation unanimously reaffirmed its support for President Claudine Gay's continued leadership despite her controversial testimony before the U.S. Congress and allegations of plagiarism. ...more
Claims against corporate officers and directors most commonly are derivative claims brought on behalf of a corporation or LLC in which the company is a nominal plaintiff. These claims allege that the defendants have breached...more
Traditionally deployed to protect a corporation from its board’s imprudent investment or financial decision-making, in recent years shareholders have taken to bringing derivative actions on a corporation’s behalf for its...more
The decision articulates the standard for plaintiffs asserting derivative claims based on an alleged failure of oversight by directors and officers of California companies. Nearly three decades ago in the seminal case In...more
Over the years, I have commented on the fact that the California Court of Appeal has yet to apply In re Caremark International Inc., 698 A.2d 959 (Del. Ch. 1996) to the directors of a California corporation. Last Friday,...more
In February 2023 ClientEarth issued a derivative action against Shell’s 11 directors. ClientEarth alleged that the directors had breached their duties under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) by failing to adopt and implement...more