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Fiduciary Duty Shareholders Breach of Contract

Goodwin

“‘They Will Thank Me in the Long Run’”: Court of Appeal Considers Good Faith Obligations and Fiduciary Duties of Directors in...

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The English Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Saxon Woods Investments Limited v. Francesco Costa ([2025] EWCA Civ 708) provides clarification on the application of directors’ fiduciary duties and the interpretation of good...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Dismisses Aiding And Abetting Fraud Claim Against Corporate Officers And Directors On Grounds That A Corporation...

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Urvan v. AMMO, Inc., Consol. C.A. No. 2023-0470 PRW (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2024, corrected Mar. 14, 2024) - It is an axiom of Delaware law that a corporation acts through its human agents. This principle informs the causes of...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Invokes the Implied Covenant to Invalidate Shareholder Rights Plan

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Whitestone REIT Operating Partnership L.P. v. Pillarstone Capital REIT, C.A. No. 2022-0607-LWW (Del. Ch. Jan. 25, 2024) - In Delaware, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is inherent in all contracts and...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Excuses Condition in Stockholder Agreement When Company Caused its Non-Occurrence

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Chordia v. Lee, C.A. No. 2023-0382-NAC (Del. Ch. Jan. 4, 2024) - In this case, as part of a sale of a majority interest, a stockholder agreement granted the founders the ability to designate members to the board of...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Concludes Accountant Provision in Stock Purchase Agreement Calls for Expert Determination Rather than Arbitration

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ArchKey Intermediate Holdings Inc. v. Mona, C.A. No. 2021-0383-JTL (Del. Ch. Oct. 3, 2023) - Parties to a stock purchase agreement disputed post-closing price adjustments. The agreement called for an independent accountant...more

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Upholds Contractual Voidness Provision in LLC Agreement

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Holifield v. XRI Investment Holdings, LLC, No. 407, 2022 (Del. Sept. 7, 2023) - This decision concerned the disputed transfer of a member's LLC units. Below, the Court of Chancery held that the disputed transfer was...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review - February 2023

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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

Goodwin

“Good Faith” in Shareholders’ Agreements: What Does it Mean?

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Shareholder agreements often include an obligation that the shareholders must act with “good faith” in their dealings with one another and with the company. However, what does that actually mean? In this insight, we consider...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Shareholder Actions: Direct Vs. Derivative Suits

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When it comes to protecting their interests – or the interests of the corporation – shareholders have unique rights to take legal action. They can file suit either on behalf of the corporation itself, known as a derivative...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Resolves Section 225 Dispute and Declines to Invalidate Written Consents

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Zhou v. Deng, C.A. No. 2021-0026-JRS (Del. Ch. Apr. 6, 2022) - When deciding a summary proceeding regarding a disputed corporate office under Section 225 of the DGCL, the Court of Chancery may consider whether an election,...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Minority Shareholders can “Follow the Money” Linked To Alleged Diversions by Majority for Phantom Salaries and Benefits

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The minority shareholders of a podiatry practice felt like they had been kicked around by the alleged financial misadventures of two colleagues who together controlled an 80 percent interest....more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Clears Musk of Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

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On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Cigna Derivative Suit Over Failed Anthem Merger

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Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Cigna Derivative Suit Over Failed Anthem Merger; The PCAOB Sanctions Former KPMG Vice Chair Of Audit For Failure To Supervise Senior Members Of KPMG's Audit Practice; Ninth Circuit Affirms...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Implied Covenant Claim For Former Stockholders’ Alleged Improper Demands That Company Take Actions To Achieve...

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Pacira Biosciences, Inc. v. Fortis Advisors LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0694-PAF (Del. Ch. Oct. 25, 2021) - There generally cannot be a claim under the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing for conduct that is addressed...more

Morris James LLP

CCLD Rejects Several Defenses to Insurance Coverage of a Settlement Paid By Investment Fund

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Sycamore Partners Management, L.P. v. Endurance American Insurance Co., C.A. No. N18C-09-211 AML CCLD (Del. Super. Sept. 10, 2021) - Prior to the closing of a leveraged buyout of a company (the “Merger”) whereby the...more

Goodwin

Massachusetts Superior Court BLS Finds No Duty To Disclose Alleged Preliminary Merger Discussions

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Massachusetts Superior Court BLS Finds No Duty to Disclose Alleged Preliminary Merger Discussions, Northern District of California Declines to Dismiss Oracle Fraud Class Action Suit, SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument in Goldman...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Sustains CEO’s Contract Claims in WeWork Litigation

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In re WeWork Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2020-0258-AGB (Del. Ch. Oct. 30, 2020). A company facing a liquidity crisis (the shared working space company, WeWork), its outgoing CEO (Adam Nuemann), and two related SoftBank...more

Carlton Fields

Seventh Circuit Reverses Prior Ruling After Reexamining Exclusion Clause

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After a panel rehearing, the Seventh Circuit in Emmis Communications Corp. v. Illinois National Insurance Co., No. 18-3392 (7th Cir. Aug. 21, 2019), vacated a prior judgment and withdrew an opinion issued in July 2019,...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Addresses Stockholder Standing to Enforce Corporate Contracts, Declines to Dismiss Claim for Breach of...

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Ark. Teacher Ret. Sys. v. Alon USA Energy, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0453-KSJM (Del. Ch. Jun. 28, 2019). Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, an anti-takeover statute, prohibits a target from entering into a...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Addresses Earn-Out Dispute Involving Alleged Breaches of Fiduciary Duty and the Implied Covenant

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Glidepath Ltd. v. Beumer Corp., C.A. No. 12220-VCL (Del. Ch. Feb. 21, 2019). Contingent payments based on an acquired business’s future performance are a frequent feature in M&A transactions. In this case, after selling...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Addresses the Scope of Summary Control Disputes and Effectiveness of Written Consents

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Brown v. Kellar, C.A. No. 2018-0687-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 21, 2018) - Control disputes, like those under Section 225 of the DGCL, are summary, narrow proceedings limited to the issues regarding title to office. The Court of...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware District Court Explains Tolling Based on Books and Records Inspection

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Norman v. Elkin, C.A. No. 06-005-LPS (D. Del. Sept. 4, 2018) - Litigation seeking to inspect a corporation’s records under Section 220 of the DGCL might toll the statute of limitations for certain claims under the right...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Withdraw a Dissolution Claim? Not So Fast

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Article 11 of the Business Corporation Law governs dissolution of closely held New York business corporations. Article 11 has existed, more or less in its current form, for decades. Some of its provisions have been heavily...more

K&L Gates LLP

Ninth Circuit Opinion May Open Litigation Doors Most Thought Closed

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A recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion charts potential new pathways for claims for damages resulting from portfolio losses by mutual fund shareholders against both a fund’s trustees and its investment adviser....more

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