News & Analysis as of

Shareholder Litigation Business Judgment Rule Fiduciary Duty

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Rulings in Derivative Litigation Challenging Oracle’s NetSuite Acquisition

Morris James LLP on

In re Oracle Corp. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337 (Del. Jan. 21, 2025) - The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in favor of the defendants in a derivative suit challenging Oracle’s acquisition of...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

New Formation and Governance Considerations: Taking Advantage of Texas SB 29

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 29 (SB 29) on May 14, 2025. SB 29 amends the Texas Business Organizations Code’s (TBOC) provisions regarding corporate governance, director and officer liability, shareholder...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

What Litigators Should Know About Texas Corporate Governance Reforms Under SB 29

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On May 14, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 29 (“SB 29”), which significantly reforms the Texas Business Organizations Code (“TBOC”). With these reforms, Texas aims to create a legal environment...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Texas Corporations Gain New Governance Tools and Increased Predictability in Shareholder Disputes

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Texas Senate Bill 29, which includes a comprehensive package of amendments to the Texas Business Organizations Code aimed at reinforcing and revitalizing the governance...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Texas Senate Bill 29: New Business Liability Protections and Governance Reforms for SMBs

Hendershot Cowart P.C. on

Texas Senate Bill 29 (SB 29), signed into law by Governor Abbott on May 14, 2025, and effective immediately, introduces substantial changes to the Texas Business Organizations Code that affect how businesses operate in the...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Actions for Corporations to Obtain the Benefits of Amendments to the Texas Business Organizations Code

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On May 14, 2025, Texas Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 29 (“S.B. 29”) into law, significantly reforming the Texas Business Organizations Code (“TBOC”) to promote Texas as a preferred state of incorporation for both public...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Texas Legislature Approves Significant Changes to Its Corporate Law, Incentivizing Relocation to Texas and Listing on Texas-based...

Fenwick & West LLP on

Delaware has long been the jurisdiction of choice for corporations, but certain recent controversial judicial decisions have resulted in a number of high-profile companies reincorporating (or considering reincorporation) into...more

Allen Matkins

This Texas Case Illustrates Why Delaware Corporations Are Choosing Nevada

Allen Matkins on

Bright-eyed Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was not birthed of a woman.  Rather, she sprang from the head of Zeus after he swallowed Metis, the pre-Olympian goddess of wisdom...more

Jones Day

Will the 'Business Judgment Rule' Be Bigger (and Better) in Texas?

Jones Day on

On February 27, 2025, Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) filed Senate Bill 29 (S.B. 29), proposing several corporate reforms designed to cement Texas as the premier business-friendly jurisdiction in the nation. If enacted, S.B....more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

In re Oracle Corporation Derivative Litigation: Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Court Decision Not to Impose Fiduciary...

On January 21, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Lit., finding that a less than 50% stockholder does not owe fiduciary duties absent evidence of either...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Delaware Supreme Court: Permissive Business Judgment Rule Applies to Corporate Conversions

Holland & Knight LLP on

everal 2024 decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery led some prominent corporate leaders to express frustration over perceived increased liability standards for corporate officers and directors, even publicly advising new...more

Cooley LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Reverses Chancery Court, Holds Business Judgment Review Applicable to Tripadvisor’s Decision to...

Cooley LLP on

Delaware corporations contemplating conversion to another state should take note of the Delaware Supreme Court’s recent decision in Maffei, et al. v. Palkon, et al., in which the court ruled that Tripadvisor’s decision to...more

Perkins Coie

When Is a Minority Stockholder a Controller? The Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms the Ground Rules in In Re Oracle Derivative...

Perkins Coie on

Controlling stockholders owe fiduciary duties to other stockholders that minority stockholders do not. A holder of over 50% of a corporation’s voting power is clearly a controlling stockholder. As a consequence, transactions...more

Allen Matkins

Is Pareto Optimality The Answer For Controlling Stockholder Transactions?

Allen Matkins on

Yesterday's post concerned the Delaware Supreme Court's decision that the business judgment rule applied to TripAdvisor's decision to reincorporate in Nevada.  Maffei v. Palkon, 2025 WL 384054 (Del. Feb. 4, 2025).  This...more

Goodwin

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Boards Must Satisfy the MFW Framework in Controller Transactions to Obtain Business Judgment...

Goodwin on

In 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court held in Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. (“MFW”) that a court will apply the entire fairness standard of review to freeze-out merger transactions between a controlled corporation and its...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

M&A in Brief: Q1 2024

In a letter ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court held that where neither the target nor the acquiror was a Delaware entity, the transaction documents between the parties could not confer jurisdiction in the Chancery Court...more

Venable LLP

Fiduciary Liability Limitations Under Nevada Law Trigger Entire Fairness Review of Conversion from Delaware Due to Controlling...

Venable LLP on

The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Palkon v. Maffei, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0449-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), determined that a reduction in the liability exposure of a fiduciary due to the conversion of a Delaware...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Rescinds Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Compensation Package in Cautionary Tale About Director Independence...

Goodwin on

On January 30, 2024, the Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the $55.8 billion compensation plan that Tesla, Inc.’s board of directors had granted to Tesla’s well-known CEO, Elon Musk, finding that the...more

Venable LLP

Supreme Court of Maryland Overrules Prior Distinction Between Director’s Managerial and Non-Managerial Duties and Reaffirms That...

Venable LLP on

In one of the most significant Maryland corporate law cases in several years, involving an inter-generational family contest between (a) a 28% stockholder and former director and employee (“Mekhaya”) and (b) the corporation...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

The Business Judgment Rule Saves Disney Officers and Directors in a Stockholder Records Action

Corporate activity related to ESG can have profound legal and market consequences. These consequences can be cut many ways. Although having taken a position on Florida legislation that resulted in negative business...more

Goodwin

McDonald’s Part Two: Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claims Against Directors Arising From Sexual Harassment Issues

Goodwin on

On March 1, 2023, in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of Delaware’s Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss derivative claims against McDonald’s directors...more

DarrowEverett LLP

Life May Not Be Fair, But Interested Party Transactions Should Be

DarrowEverett LLP on

When a court reviews contested business transactions of a Delaware corporation, they typically rely on one of two standards of review: the “business judgment rule” or the “entire fairness standard.” The business judgment rule...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Clears Musk of Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

Goodwin on

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

Freeman Law

The Business Judgment Rule in Texas

Freeman Law on

Corporate officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to the corporation that they serve, and they can be held liable if they breach that fiduciary duty. Fiduciary duties are not codified in the Texas Business Organizations...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Delaware’s New Universal Demand-Futility Test

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

On Sept. 23, the Delaware Supreme Court endorsed a new universal three-part demand-futility test in United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Fund v. Zuckerberg, et...more

63 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide