News & Analysis as of

Merger Agreements Mergers Breach of Contract

Morris James LLP

Chancery Determines Pharmaceutical Company Complied with Merger Agreement’s Requirement To Use Commercially Reasonable Efforts

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Himawan v. Cephalon, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0075-SG (Del. Ch. Apr. 30, 2024) - Stockholder representatives of an acquired corporation brought claims alleging that defendants had failed to use contractually-required...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

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Busted-Deal Decision and Attorneys’ Fees for Contingency Fee Based Representation

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Energy Transfer LP v. The Williams Companies, Inc., No. 391, 2022 (Del. Oct. 10, 2023) - Busted-deal litigation is commonplace in Delaware and often requires Delaware courts to interpret provisions in merger agreements...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Questions Enforceability of Con Ed Provisions

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So-called Con Ed provisions emerged as M&A practitioners’ response to Consolidated Edison, Inc. v. Northeast Utilities, a 2005 case in which the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that stockholder plaintiffs did not have...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Specific Performance in De-SPAC Transaction Based on Difficulty of Enforcement and Plaintiff’s Inequitable Conduct

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26 Capital Acquisition Corp. v. Tiger Resort Asia Ltd., CA No. 2023-0128-JTL (Del. Ch. September 7, 2023) - Even where the parties have contractually agreed that specific performance is the preferred remedy for a breach,...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Sellers’ Claim Against Buyers for Failure to Close, Finds That Sellers’ Award of “Phantom Equity” to Former...

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HControl Holdings LLC vs. Antin Infrastructure Partners S.A.S., C.A. 2023-0283-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 29, 2023) - In Delaware, buyers bear the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence their claims for breach of a...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Case Alert: AluminumSource, LLC v. LLFlex, LLC

A recent post-trial decision from Delaware regarding alleged breaches of representations and warranties in an asset purchase agreement is noteworthy. First, the decision highlights how buyers may not be able to rely on...more

Woodruff Sawyer

M&A Insurance: 2023 First Quarter Roundup

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With March now squarely in the rearview mirror, we thought it was time to look at the first quarter of 2023 from a historical perspective in terms of pricing and retentions and to discuss some emerging trends....more

J.S. Held

[Webinar] Post-Merger & Acquisition Dispute Resolution - December 7th, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm EST

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Global Investigations expert Frank Lazzara, CPA, CFF, ABV, CFE, and Economic Damages & Valuations expert David Golbahar, CPA, CFF, CGMA, will present a one-hour* course, which will cover: - An overview of purchase price...more

Woodruff Sawyer

R&W Claims 101: Types of Claims

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Representations and warranties (R&W) insurance covers a breach of the reps and warranties contained in the purchase agreement governing a merger or acquisition. Since reps and warranties insurance policies are...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Hell-or-High-Water Clauses in Uncertain Regulatory Times

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​​​​​​​In a deal market as uncertain as this one, we have seen transactional lawyers more frequently resorting to pushing what are known as “hell or high water” clauses - clauses that obligate parties to take “any and all...more

Morgan Lewis - Power & Pipes

Real-World Litigation Impacts of Contract Clauses in Energy Contracts: The Power of Merger Clauses

If you’ve ever been involved in negotiating a contract, whether for the provision of services or a $200 million energy transaction, you’ve likely seen a merger clause. They are typically universal in their use and, while the...more

Morris James LLP

Court Rejects Franchisor’s Attempt Based on Business Effects of COVID-19 to Escape Contractual Obligation to Purchase Franchisee’s...

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Level 4 Yoga, LLC v. CorePower Yoga, LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0249-JRS (Del. Ch. March 1, 2022) - In this post-trial decision, the Court of Chancery awarded specific performance to Plaintiff/franchisee who sought to enforce...more

Hicks Johnson

The Basics: Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing Under Delaware Law

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Under Delaware law, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing attaches to every contract by operation of law and is best understood as an implied term. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that parties deal...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Holds That Exclusive Remedy Provisions Alone Are Not Enough To Bar Fraud Claims Based On Extra-Contractual...

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Fortis Advisors LLC v. Johnson & Johnson, C.A. No. 2020-0881-LLW(Del. Ch. Dec. 13, 2021) - Delaware public policy respects freedom of contract, but it is also intolerant of fraud. These dueling policy aims are often pitted...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Applies Plain Language of a Merger Covenant To Dismiss Acquirer’s Untimely Indemnification Claim and Deny Sellers’...

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Supernus Pharms., Inc. v. Reich Consulting Grp., Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0217-MTZ (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2021) - Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. acquired biotech startup Biscayne Neurotherapeutics, Inc. pursuant to a 2018 merger...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

Hogan Lovells

Yatra Online v. Ebix: clarify post-termination rights to ensure hook for breach of contract claim - Quarterly Corporate / M&A...

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The court’s decision in Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc. et al (C.A. No. 2020-0444-JRS (Del. Ch. May 13, 2021)) underscores the importance of carefully considering the language of a contract’s termination provisions when...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Enforces Parties’ Merger Agreement That Barred Claims Upon Termination of the Agreement

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Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0444-JRS (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2021) - Agreements frequently specify how the termination of the agreement affects the parties’ rights and obligations. This case illustrates that...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Holds That ‘Effect of Termination’ Provision Bars Party Who Terminated Merger Agreement From Also...

In its recent decision in Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc., Case No. 2020-0444-JRS, 2021 WL 3855514 (Del. Ch. Aug. 30, 2021) (Slights, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed plaintiff’s breach of contract and other...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds Change in Product’s Medicare Reimbursement Rate Was Not A Material Adverse Effect Excusing Buyer From Closing

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Bardy Diagnostics, Inc. v. Hill-Rom, Inc. C.A. No. 2021-0175-JRS (Del. Ch. Jul. 9, 2021) - Bardy manufactures a patch that measures heart rate. Its reimbursement rate for the patch had for years been set around $365 per...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds That Claim Based on Purposeful Tanking of Merger Agreement Earnout Is Breach of Contract Claim

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Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. Albertson’s Companies, C.A. No. 2020-0710-JRS (Del. Ch. June 7, 2021) - Many merger agreements include earnout provisions under which the stockholders in the acquired company are...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Orders Specific Performance of Deal, Despite Lack of Debt Financing, Finding that COVID-Related Business Decline Was Not...

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Snow Phipps Grp., LLC v. KCake Acquisition, Inc., 2020-0282-KSJM (Del. Ch. Apr. 30, 2021) - In Snow Phipps, the Court of Chancery refused to allow a private equity buyer with pandemic-related cold feet to back out of its...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Refuses to Enforce Alleged Contractual Rights Not Obtained at the “Negotiating Table”

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Obsidian Fin. Grp., LLC v. Identity Theft Guard Solutions, Inc., C.A. No: 2020-0485-JRS (Del. Ch. Apr. 22, 2021) - Delaware is “more contractarian” than many other jurisdictions. Accordingly, as this case illustrates, a...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Make Sure the Language in Your Earnout Provision Accounts for the Obstacles to Receiving Those Future Payments

In M&A transactions, the buyer and seller often disagree about the value of the business or asset being sold. A popular solution is an earnout clause that entitles either the seller or buyer to future payments from the...more

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