On July 6, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a written opinion explaining a prior bench ruling on a mootness fee awarded to plaintiff’s counsel in connection with a putative...more
In a recent decision from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a federal Judge pushed back against the common but abusive practice of “mootness fee” payoffs in public M&A deals. In the...more
On January 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari concerning whether Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 includes an implied private right of action for negligent...more
In the past few years, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of M&A disclosure lawsuits filed in federal court. Recently, courts have begun to fight back against this nuisance litigation using different approaches. ...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery fundamentally altered the M&A litigation landscape when it expressed its skepticism of disclosure-only settlements in the case of In re Trulia, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, 129 A.3d 884 (Del....more
Over the last few years, three notable Delaware cases — C&J Energy, Corwin and Trulia — have paved the way for a dramatic shift in the deal litigation landscape. In C&J Energy Services, Inc. v. City of Miami General...more
As expected, securities class action filings reached a high-water mark in 2017. In fact, last year’s total of 400-plus filings was the second-highest on record, topped only by 2001, when the number was skewed by more than 300...more
Developments in appraisal law, the application of Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC in post-closing damages actions and the potential expansion of Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corporation (MFW) — a case examining the standard of...more
The North Carolina Business Court recently approved a “disclosure settlement” of a merger challenge, suggesting that in North Carolina such settlements may remain a viable means of resolving merger lawsuits – at least where...more
Over the past two years, the deal litigation landscape has changed dramatically. In early 2016, the Delaware Court of Chancery announced a new rule for evaluating disclosure-based settlements in deal litigation — the “plainly...more
Silicon Valley court signals increased scrutiny of disclosure-only settlements of merger objection litigation. Delaware Courts have become reluctant to approve settlements of merger objection lawsuits based on...more
What is the most significant recent development in Delaware, from a litigation standpoint? The most significant recent development impacting deal litigation in Delaware is the continuing evolution of the Corwin doctrine,...more
Significant changes in Delaware merger litigation and settlement practice in 2016, as well as noteworthy case law developments and trends, will continue to affect merger parties and litigants in 2017 and beyond....more
2016 saw many notable developments in corporate governance litigation and related regulatory developments. In this article, we discuss significant judicial and regulatory developments in the following areas: Mergers...more
In a recent article entitled “The Death of Merger Litigation?”, we wrote about the Delaware Court of Chancery’s increasing refusal to approve disclosure-only settlements in shareholder lawsuits challenging public company...more
The Court of Chancery’s highly-publicized decision in In re Trulia, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, 129 A.3d 884 (Del. Ch. 2016) (Bouchard, C.) (discussed here) took aim at the problem of disclosure-only settlements and...more
As previously discussed in Insights: The Delaware Edition, throughout the second half of 2015, the Delaware Court of Chancery began to question its long-standing practice of approving deal litigation settlements involving...more
Are "disclosure only" claims now at an end in Delaware? Following the Delaware Court of Chancery's Jan. 22 decision in In re Trulia, 129 A.3d 884 (Del. Ch. 2016), various commentators have concluded Trulia "likely spells the...more
As recently as 2014, nearly 95% of all mergers of public companies valued at $100 million or more triggered stockholder class action litigation. Historically, a large number of merger-related stockholder litigation settled...more
Disclosure only settlements are in deep trouble in Delaware based on the Court of Chancery's recent decision in In re Trulia Inc. Stockholder Litigation. That decision is said to have sounded a "death knell" in Delaware for...more
It used to be that boards of public companies being acquired would routinely face one or (likely) more lawsuits alleging the directors breached their fiduciary duties because they had agreed to sell too cheaply or engaged in...more
This is an interesting decision for two reasons. First, the decision awards a mootness fee for disclosures and changes to deal protection measures in a merger gone bust. Thus, the opinion is useful precedent in the...more
As detailed in a prior post (available here), the ruling in In re Trulia, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, 2016 WL 270821 (Del. Ch. Jan. 22, 2016) changed the legal landscape for so-called disclosure settlements. Among other...more
On January 22, 2016, Delaware Chancellor Andre C. Bouchard rejected a proposed “disclosure-only” settlement in In re Trulia Stockholder Litigation. The decision confirms the Chancery Court’s growing skepticism for...more
M&A lawsuits and so-called “disclosure-only” settlements – where stockholder plaintiffs drop their requests to enjoin a deal and grant defendants broad releases primarily in exchange for supplemental disclosures to...more