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
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
In In re Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a foreign controlling stockholder impliedly consented to personal jurisdiction in Delaware because the controller’s...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
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
Delaware law provides important tools for directors to maintain control of derivative lawsuits.1 One such tool is the “demand requirement” embodied in Court of Chancery Rule 23.1, which requires that before a stockholder acts...more
Just in time for Christmas, on December 20, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a Christmas present – or lump of coal, depending on your view – in its opinion in El Paso Pipeline GP Company LLC v. Brinckerhoff. In this...more
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an important decision on the subject of director independence. In Sandys v. Pincus, No. 157, 2016 (Del. Dec. 5, 2016), the Delaware Supreme Court held that certain directors of...more
Last month, the Delaware Chancery Court drastically reduced – from $275,000 to $50,000 – a mootness fee award requested by plaintiffs’ counsel in a lawsuit challenging the merger between PayPal and Xoom Corporation, finding...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