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Delaware Supreme Court Revives Fiduciary Duty Claims in Derivative Lawsuit Concerning Blue Bell’s Listeria Outbreak

Marchand v. Barnhill, No. 533, 2018 (Del. June 19, 2019). As this decision illustrates, while Delaware law imposes a high bar for pleading demand futility and fiduciary oversight claims under what is known as a Caremark...more

Chancery Finds Company Exceeds Authority Under Advance Notice Bylaw

Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd. v. Blackrock Credit Allocation Income Trust, C.A. No. 2019-0416-MTZ (Del. Ch. June 27, 2019). Delaware courts construe advance notice by-laws against the drafter in favor of stockholder...more

Chancery Addresses the Direct and Derivative Claim Distinction and Demand Futility in the LLC Context

Stone & Paper Investors LLC v. Blanch, C.A. No. 2018-0394-TMR (Del. Ch. May 31, 2019). Plaintiff sued Defendants, who were supposed to manage the parties’ limited liability company, directly and derivatively for breaching...more

Chancery Finds Adequately Pled Breach of Fiduciary Duty Based on Course of Disruptive Conduct

Klein v. Wasserman, C. A. No. 2017-0643-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 29, 2019). The typical claim for breach of fiduciary duty arises out of a single transaction or event, or several closely-related transactions or events. ...more

Chancery Orders Dissolution of Pharmaceutical LLC

Acela Investments LLC v. DiFalco, C.A. No. 2018-0558-AGB (Del. Ch. May 17, 2019). Because LLCs are “creatures of contract” and the policy of the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act is to give maximum effect to the...more

Superior Court Complex Commercial Litigation Division Holds Settlements Arising out of Dole Stockholder Litigations Constitute...

Arch Insurance Co. v. Murdock, C.A. No. N16C-01-104 (EMD)(CCLD) (Del. Super. May 7, 2019). After trial and an adverse judgment in the amount for $148 million for breach of the duty of loyalty in a going private merger In...more

Delaware Supreme Court Rejects MFW Defense Because of Delay in Safeguards

Olenik v. Lodzinksi, No. 392, 2018 (Del. Apr. 5, 2019). Under Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014), deferential business judgment review governs mergers between a controlling stockholder and the controlled...more

Chancery Ends Trip for Uber Derivative Lawsuit

McElrath v. Kalanick, C.A. No. 2017-0888-SG (Del. Ch. Apr. 1, 2019). This derivative action arose out of Uber’s acquisition of a self-driving vehicle firm named Otto, which involved former Google employees. Google sued...more

Chancery Applies Corwin Doctrine to Medium-Form Merger Absent Controller Conflict 

English v. Narang, C.A. No. 2018-0221-AGB (Del. Ch. Mar. 20, 2019). Under the well-known Corwin doctrine, when a transaction not subject to the entire fairness standard of review is approved by a fully informed, uncoerced...more

Chancery Finds Controlling Stockholder Impliedly Consented to Jurisdiction Through Board’s Adoption of Delaware Forum-Selection...

In re Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0058-JTL (Del. Ch. Mar. 15, 2019). Stockholders that control Delaware corporations find themselves subject to fiduciary duties. According to this...more

Court of Chancery Explains Interplay of Laches Defense, the Statute of Limitations and “Extraordinary Circumstances” Excusing Late...

Winklevoss Capital Fund, LLC v. Shaw, C.A. No. 2018-0398-JRS (Del. Ch. Mar. 1, 2019) - As this decision explains, the Court of Chancery will apply the equitable doctrine of laches (untimeliness) at the pleadings stage to...more

Chancery Enjoins Unfair Merger Pending Corrective Disclosures, But Declines to Order a “Go Shop”

FrontFour Capital Grp. LLC v. Taube, C.A. No. 2019-0100-KSJM (Del. Ch. Mar. 11, 2019) - This decision involves an increasingly rare occurrence in Delaware: an expedited pre-closing fiduciary duty challenge to a proposed...more

Chancery Applies the Corporate Opportunity Doctrine and Finds Duty of Loyalty Breach

Personal Touch Holding Corp. v. Felix Glaubach, D.D.S., C.A. No. 11199-CB (Del. Ch. Feb. 25, 2019). Under the corporate opportunity doctrine, one way for a fiduciary to breach her duty of loyalty is to take personal...more

Chancery Addresses Earn-Out Dispute Involving Alleged Breaches of Fiduciary Duty and the Implied Covenant

Glidepath Ltd. v. Beumer Corp., C.A. No. 12220-VCL (Del. Ch. Feb. 21, 2019). Contingent payments based on an acquired business’s future performance are a frequent feature in M&A transactions. In this case, after selling...more

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review - 2018

This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year 2018. Originally published in Transaction Advisors....more

Chancery Dismisses Books and Records Action Based on Pending Plenary Action

CHC Investments LLC v. Firstsun Capital Bancorp, C.A. No. 2018-0610-KSJM (Del. Ch. Jan. 24, 2019). One proper purpose for a books and records inspection under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law is to...more

Chancery Addresses Pre-Suit Demand Refusal Standard for Special Committees

City of Tamarac Firefighters’ Pension Trust Fund v. Corvi, C.A. No. 2017-0341-KSJM (Del. Ch. Feb. 12, 2019). Under Delaware law, stockholders who wish to pursue a derivative claim on the corporation’s behalf face an...more

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year In Review – 2018

This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year 2018. The cases selected either meaningfully changed Delaware law or provided...more

Chancery Addresses Lawyer-Driven Effort Defense to Books and Records Inspection

Inter-Local Pension Fund GCC/IBT v. Calgon Carbon Corp., C.A. No. 2017-0910-MTZ (Del. Ch. Jan. 25, 2019). It is sometimes fair to characterize plaintiff-side representative litigation in the corporate context as...more

Delaware Supreme Court Addresses Emails and Jurisdictional Use Conditions in Books and Records Actions

KT4 Partners LLC v. Palantir Technologies Inc., No. 281, 2018 (Del. Jan. 29, 2019) (Strine, Chief Justice). Two prevailing questions for books and records inspections under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation...more

Chancery Addresses Books and Records Demand Under Section 220 by Papa John’s Founder

Schnatter v. Papa John’s Int’l, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0542-AGB (Del. Ch. Jan. 15, 2019). As a general matter, under Section 220 of the DGCL, directors of a Delaware corporation enjoy the right to virtually unfettered access...more

Court of Chancery Addresses the Scope of Summary Control Disputes and Effectiveness of Written Consents

Brown v. Kellar, C.A. No. 2018-0687-MTZ (Del. Ch. Dec. 21, 2018) - Control disputes, like those under Section 225 of the DGCL, are summary, narrow proceedings limited to the issues regarding title to office. The Court of...more

Court of Chancery Invalidates Federal Court Forum-Selection Provision for Securities Cases

Sciabacucchi v. Salzberg, C.A. No. 2017-0031-JTL (Del. Ch. Dec. 19, 2018) - Delaware law permits a Delaware corporation to include a forum-selection provision in its certificate of incorporation governing all “internal...more

Court of Chancery Declines to Expand Dual-Natured Direct and Derivative Claims Under Gentile

Klein v. H.I.G. Capital LLC, C.A. No. 2017-0862-AGB (Del. Ch. Dec. 19, 2018) - Under the Delaware Supreme Court’s Gentile decision, a claim may be dual-natured, meaning partially derivative on behalf of the corporation and...more

Court of Chancery Addresses Overlapping Appraisal and Fiduciary Duty Action

In re Xura Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 12608-VCS (Del. Ch. Dec. 10, 2018) - Lately, the Delaware Supreme Court has given great weight to the deal price in appraisal cases. As a result, plaintiffs have put a greater...more

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