Litigation developments: fundamental shareholder rights.
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Founding a successful company is enormously difficult. An oft-cited statistic is that 75% of venture-backed start-ups fail, a percentage that is probably both understated and fails to consider all the companies that never...more
On July 17, 2024, Delaware Governor John Carney signed into law amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) from Senate Bill 313 that had sparked considerable controversy within the corporate law and governance...more
The latest amendments (the “Amendments”) to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) went into effect today, August 1, 2024, to address, among other things, (i) stockholder agreements related to corporate governance;...more
Key Takeaways - The Delaware Court of Chancery held that stockholder governance rights that restrict the ability of the board of directors to manage or direct the business and affairs of a corporation are facially invalid...more
On February 23, 2024, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery invalidated a number of significant provisions in a stockholder agreement between a financial institution (the “Company”) and its...more
In West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company, the Delaware Court of Chancery invalidated a set of approval rights contained in a stockholder agreement as facially in conflict with Section 141(a) of the...more
On February 23, 2024, a decision by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster in the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated parts of a shareholder agreement between Moelis & Company and its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and founder,...more
On February 23, 2024, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued his 131-page decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Co., No. 2023-0309-JTL. The case involved a...more
On February 23, 2024, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision concluding that some provisions of a stockholder agreement purporting to give a large stockholder various governance...more
Professor Stephen Bainbridge recently commented on a decision by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster finding that Section 141(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law trumps most of the provisions of a so-called "new wave"...more
We’ve all read countless headlines and articles about the removal and swift return of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI over the past several weeks. Simply put, the nonprofit board voted to remove Altman as a result of a...more
On July 17, 2023, the Governor of the state of Delaware signed Senate Bill 114 amending the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (DGCL), which will become effective on August 1, 2023. Among other things, the...more
Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery recently issued a decision addressing whether a covenant not to sue set forth in a stockholders’ agreement is enforceable under Delaware law, with the result...more
Earlier this month, TripAdvisor, Inc. filed preliminary proxy materials that include a proposal to redomesticate the company from Delaware to Nevada. Within days a lawsuit was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery...more
Earlier today, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an important ruling concluding that two companies with multiple classes of common stock were not required, under the Delaware statute,...more
What happened - A recent Delaware chancery court decision has called into question consolidated voting on charter amendments by some companies with multiple classes of common stock. In Garfield v. Boxed, Inc., the court...more
In an important decision addressing an issue of first impression, the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that corporate officers owe a fiduciary duty of oversight under Delaware law. The case, In re McDonald’s Corporation...more
In recent weeks, the Delaware Court of Chancery has issued two noteworthy opinions in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) context—one related to fiduciary duties and one related to the technical question of when a...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
In Stream T.V. Networks, Inc. v. SeeCubic, Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court (“Court”) held that section 271 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“D.G.C.L”), which requires stockholder approval for a Delaware corporation...more
Northern District of California Dismisses Traders’ Suit Against Bitmex Crypto Exchange with Prejudice; Delaware Supreme Court Upholds Chancery Court Ruling That Stockholder Appraisal Rights Can Be Waived by Contract;...more
Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an important decision effectively broadening the scope of stockholder pre-litigation inspection rights. ...more
Manti Holdings, LLC, et al. v. Authentix Acquisition Company, Inc. considered whether a “loser pays” fee-shifting provision in a stockholders’ agreement violated Delaware law. In 2008, the Petitioners had all held stock in a...more
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant volatility in stock prices, resulting in severe disparities between stock prices and many corporations’ view of the intrinsic value of their business. This has,...more
In Salladay v. Lev, the Delaware Chancery Court elaborated on how early a corporate board must take protective measures to shield a conflicted transaction from entire fairness review. Salladay involved a motion to dismiss a...more