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Shareholder Litigation Controlling Stockholders Mergers

Allen Matkins

Court: Nevada Allows Controllers To Vote In Their Own Interest

Allen Matkins on

Yesterday’s post concerned the recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Eskridge in Rowe v. Doris, 2025 WL 963590 (S.D. Tex. Mar. 31, 2025).  The case involved claims arising from the merger of two Nevada...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

Morris James LLP

Dilution Claim in Which a Controller Received Additional Shares in Exchange for Its Interests, Was Exclusively Derivative

Morris James LLP on

Gentile v. Rossette, 906 A.2d 91, 100 (Del. 2006), held that dilution claims involving a controller can be both derivative and direct. In Gentile, the Delaware Supreme Court found that dilution claims, challenging a...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Applies the American Rule and Denies Attorneys’ Fees Despite Fiduciary Breach

Morris James LLP on

In re Straight Path Commc’ns Inc. Consol. S’holder Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0486-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2024) - The Court of Chancery in this stockholder class action refused to award attorneys’ fees where the Court found the...more

Baker Donelson

Delaware Revises Corporate Law to Strengthen Deals and Limit Stockholder Rights

Baker Donelson on

Delaware lawmakers recently enacted Senate Bill 21, a sweeping reform that significantly amends several sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The law introduces significant revisions aimed at increasing...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Sec Lit IQ: MoFo’s Quarterly Federal Securities Litigation and Delaware Corporate Litigation Newsletter (Q1 2025)

In our second edition of MoFo’s quarterly federal securities and Delaware corporate litigation newsletter, we provide a rundown of select developments from the first quarter of 2025. The Ninth Circuit Confirms That...more

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Bridging the M&A Gap: Independent Counsel and Minority Shareholder Protection

When a private company is being sold, it is necessary for its minority shareholders to be mindful of protecting their own individual interests when diverging from the controlling shareholder’s interests. Because the...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Claims That a Merger Involved a Conflicted Controller but Allows Limited Discovery Into Alleged Disclosure...

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Whether a party is a controlling stockholder in a conflicted transaction determines the standard of review. If a stockholder owns more than 50% of the voting shares and therefore can control the board, there is no question it...more

Mayer Brown

Delaware Law Alert: A Step-by-Step Approach for Boards Evaluating Conflicted Director, Officer, and Controlling Stockholder...

Mayer Brown on

In perhaps one of the most significant revisions to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), on March 25, 2025, the governor signed into law amendments overhauling much of the state’s law relating to conflicted...more

Cole Schotz

State of Delaware Adopts Milestone Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

Cole Schotz on

On March 25, 2025, significant amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the DGCL), intended to provide greater certainty to transaction planners in light of recent Delaware case law developments,...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Delaware Enacts Sweeping Changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law

The Delaware Legislature passed, and Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed on March 25, 2025, the landmark Senate Bill 21. Senate Bill 21 amends the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "DGCL") in significant ways, with broad...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Enacts Sweeping Changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law

On March 25, 2025, the governor of Delaware signed into law Senate Bill 21, over much opposition from the plaintiffs’ bar and some academics. The bill, which amends Sections 144 and Section 220 of the Delaware General...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Delaware Enacts Significant Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

Paul Hastings LLP on

On March 25, 2025, the Delaware General Assembly enacted amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL and such amendments, the DGCL Amendments), which were subsequently signed into law by the governor of...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

Morris James LLP

Controlling Stockholder Transactions That Do Not Involve a Freeze-Out Merger May Satisfy MFW to Obtain Business Judgment Review

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In Kahn v. M&F Worldwide, 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014) (MFW), the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a controlling stockholder transaction involving a freeze-out merger, which is structured to include approval by a well-functioning...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds That Corwin Cleansing Applies To Claims Related To Reduction Of Acquisition Price

A&O Shearman on

On June 21, 2024, Vice Chancellor Nathan A. Cook of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss a putative stockholder class action asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims against the officers and directors...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Busted Deals’ and Damages: Court of Chancery Clarifies Who Can Recover ‘Lost-Premium’ Damages

In October 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Court of Chancery addressed an issue of first impression in Crispo v. Musk, C.A. No 2022-0666-KSJM, holding that “a provision purporting to define a target...more

A&O Shearman

Addressing The Enforceability Of Con Ed Provisions In Merger Agreements, Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Petition For...

A&O Shearman on

On October 31, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued final judgment denying a petition for a mootness fee award to a stockholder—who had previously asserted claims for breach of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Special Committee Defendants For Failure To Plead...

A&O Shearman on

On November 30, 2022, Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss claims asserted against directors who served as members of the special committee (the “Special Committee”) of...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

Hogan Lovells

Q3 2021 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

Hogan Lovells on

Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the third quarter of 2021. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. The...more

Cooley LLP

Blog: Pleading Bad Faith Against Special Committee Members: A New Trend?

Cooley LLP on

Special committees, by design, are created to address conflicts and to insulate the board of directors from liability for the very conflicts that may invite judicial scrutiny of the fairness of the board’s decision. A...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Dilution Claims Against a Controller Are Solely Derivative, Overruling Prior Precedent

Fenwick & West LLP on

On September 20, 2021, the Delaware Supreme Court took the highly unusual step of overruling its prior decision in Gentile v. Rossette. An oft-criticized precedent from 2006, Gentile created an exception allowing minority...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Claims that a Minority Owner was a Controlling Stockholder or that a Majority of the Board was...

Morris James LLP on

In re: Essendant, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2018-0789-JRS (Del. Ch. Dec. 30, 2019). When as here a Delaware corporation’s charter contains an exculpation provision under Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Key Developments in Delaware Corporation Law

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

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