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The California General Corporation Law expectedly grants inspection rights to shareholders and directors of California corporations. Unexpectedly (at least to practitioners outside California), the GCL extends those rights...more
Corporate books and records demands are on the rise. And as the Delaware courts have made it easier for shareholders to demonstrate a proper purpose to seek inspection, corporations increasingly must defend these actions by...more
Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an important decision effectively broadening the scope of stockholder pre-litigation inspection rights. ...more
In Juul Labs, Inc. v. Grove, 2020 Del. Ch. LEXIS 264 (Del. Ch. Aug. 13, 2020) (Laster, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the “internal affairs doctrine” bars a stockholder of a Delaware corporation headquartered...more
In a recent decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that disputes regarding the internal affairs of a Delaware corporation, including stockholder inspection rights, are to be governed exclusively by Delaware law, even...more
Last year, we highlighted the risks of filing a Section 220 books and records request post-litigation, citing a case where the Delaware Chancery Court found that such use was an improper attempt to “sue first, ask questions...more
In Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund, et al. v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered the inspection of the books and records of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the leading opioid...more
In a 63-page decision issued on Jan. 13, 2020, in Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery found that stockholders of...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
Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law affords stockholders a qualified right to inspect a corporation's books and records. A Section 220 inspection is a powerful stockholder right, and indeed, the Delaware...more
On August 28, 2019, Vice Chancellor Kathaleen S. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a shareholder’s demand under 8 Del. C. § 220 to inspect the books and records of defendant GGP Inc. for the purpose of...more
On August 7, 2019, in a decision authored by Justice Gary F. Traynor, the Delaware Supreme Court concluded that books and records produced to a stockholder under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law are not...more
On May 30, 2019, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a stockholder demand to inspect Facebook’s books and records in connection with their Caremark claims arising from alleged data...more
Directors, corporate secretaries and company counsel must be mindful of good corporate housekeeping practices involving the maintenance of corporate books and records. Earlier this year, a handful of Delaware court opinions...more
Recently, Delaware corporations faced with demands for books and records under 8 Del. C. § 220 have increasingly been forced to contend with demands for electronic communications, such as emails. Historically, the Delaware...more
On February 12, 2019, Vice Chancellor Joseph R. Slights III of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a books and records demand of a mattress company’s (the “Company”) stockholder in connection with the termination of the...more
On January 29, 2019, in a decision authored by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr., the Supreme Court of Delaware unanimously granted a stockholder petitioner’s demand under Delaware General Corporation Law Section 220, 8 Del. C....more
In Weingarten v. Monster Worldwide, Inc., C.A. No. 12931-VCG, 2017 WL 752179 (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2017), the Delaware Court of Chancery (Glasscock, V.C.) clarified when a plaintiff has standing to vitiate inspection rights...more
The Plaintiff in Camacho v. McCallum, 2016 NCBC 79 has to head to Delaware to litigate her claims for inspection of the records of the LLC of which she is a member, and also to seek dissolution of the LLC. Why, even...more
Don’t peek at the statute, and answer the following question: A stockholder of a Delaware corporation has a statutory right to inspect a corporation’s (a) books of account; (b) accounting books and records; or (c) other...more
It is well settled that stockholders of Delaware companies generally have the right to inspect the company's books and records upon the showing of a proper purpose. However, as demonstrated in the Court of Chancery's decision...more
Books-and-records litigation does not typically grab headlines. In fact, few cases litigated under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law result in written opinions authored by the Delaware Supreme Court. ...more
Yesterday’s post mentioned the recent Delaware Supreme Court decision in United Techs. Corp. v. Treppel, 2014 Del. LEXIS 608 (Del. Dec. 23, 2014). The case involved an inspection demand under Section 220 of the Delaware...more
In United Techs. Corp. v. Treppel, 2014 Del. LEXIS 608 (Del. Dec. 23, 2014), the Delaware Supreme Court held that the Court of Chancery had authority to condition a stockholder’s inspection under Section 220 of the Delaware...more