Proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have issued their annual updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2021 proxy season. Glass Lewis’s new guidelines apply to shareholder meetings on or after January 1, 2021,...more
On November 12, 2020, Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") announced its policy updates for the 2021 proxy season, effective for meetings on or after February 1, 2021. Key updates include the following...more
In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing number of public and private companies adopting exclusive forum provisions in their charter or bylaws. Having exclusive forum provisions in place can be beneficial for a...more
In the News. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021, which include new and updated voting recommendations on federal forum and exclusive forum provisions in companies’...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021 (“Policy Updates”) on November 12, 2020. The changes that are likely to be of most interest to companies include new and...more
California State Court Upholds Exclusive Federal Forum-Selection Charter Provision for 1933 Act Suits; California District Court Dismisses Fraud-Related Claims Against AT&T; Third Circuit Holds Challenge to SEC’s Decision to...more
On September 1, 2020, Judge Marie S. Weiner of the San Mateo County, California Superior Court held that an exclusive federal forum provision was enforceable under California law. See Wong v. Restoration Robotics, Inc., No....more
In Salzberg v. Sciabacucchi, No. 346, 2019 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020), the Delaware Supreme Court upheld the validity of corporate charter provisions designating federal courts as the exclusive forum for the litigation of claims...more
On March 18th, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a key decision upholding the validity of corporate charter provisions that designate federal courts as the exclusive forum for the litigation of 1933 Act claims. This opinion...more
Climate Scorecard. At this point, public companies are keenly aware of the growing emphasis shareholders place on companies’ practices in regard to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) issues. In furtherance of that...more
In March 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund, 138 S. Ct. 1061 (2018), resolved a jurisprudential split among federal courts and held that certain federal securities claims...more
Kanye West is trying to dodge class certification for a group of devout fans who claim he duped them into subscribing to music streaming service, Tidal. ...more
To protect contractors and subcontractors working on North Carolina construction projects, state law prohibits the enforcement of any agreement subjecting the parties exclusively to the laws of another state or making the...more
The Minnesota Legislature has approved, and Governor Mark Dayton has signed, legislation amending the Minnesota Business Corporation Act (MBCA). The amendments go into effect on August 1, 2018 and include authorizations...more
In Bushansky v. Soon-Shiong, 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 493 (Cal. App. May 25, 2018), the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, affirmed the dismissal of a shareholder derivative action brought in the Superior...more
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has signed into law revisions to several Minnesota business organization statutes including the Minnesota Business Corporation Act, the Minnesota Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act,...more
Yesterday’s post concerned Section 2116 of the California Corporations Code. Courts sometimes describe Section 2116 as codifying the internal affairs doctrine. See, e.g., Vaughn v. LJ Internat., Inc., 174 Cal. App. 4th 213,...more
What is the most significant recent development in Delaware, from a litigation standpoint? The most significant recent development impacting deal litigation in Delaware is the continuing evolution of the Corwin doctrine,...more
In IBEW Local No. 129 Benefit Fund v. Tucci, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) affirmed the dismissal of direct claims for breach of fiduciary duty by EMC shareholders challenging the merger of EMC and Dell, Inc....more
In 2015, the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) was amended to prohibit Delaware corporations from adopting bylaws that imposed liability on a stockholder for the attorneys’ fees or expenses of the corporation or any...more
It used to be that boards of public companies being acquired would routinely face one or (likely) more lawsuits alleging the directors breached their fiduciary duties because they had agreed to sell too cheaply or engaged in...more
In Roberts v. TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc., 358 Or. 413, __ P.3d ___, 2015 WL 8539902 (Dec. 10, 2015), the Oregon Supreme Court unanimously held that a Delaware corporation’s “exclusive-forum” bylaw, which required that all...more
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis recently issued its U.S. voting policy guidelines for the 2016 proxy season. The guidelines include a few key changes, a summary of which is outlined below. Conflicting Shareholder...more
Section 145(k) of the Delaware General Corporation Law is quite clear and emphatic about which court may hear actions for indemnification or advancement of expenses: The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive...more
A great deal of attention has been paid over the past few years to efforts made by corporations to control in which courts fiduciary duty and other claims may be brought against directors and officers. Effective August 1,...more