In re BGC Partners, Inc. Derivative Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0722-AGB (Del. Ch. Sept. 30, 2019).
A stockholder plaintiff seeking to bring a derivative claim on behalf of a corporation must first demand authorization...more
MKE Holdings v. Schwartz, C.A. No. 2018-0729-SG (Del. Ch. Sept. 26, 2019).
Under Delaware law, the managers of a limited liability company owe the entity and its members the traditional common law fiduciary duties of care...more
In Re Clovis Oncology, Inc. Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2017-0222-JRS (Del. Ch. Oct. 1, 2019).
The Delaware courts have observed that a Caremark claim for failure of oversight against a board is among the most...more
Tornetta v. Musk, C.A. No. 2018-0408-JRS (Del. Ch. Sept. 20, 2019).
Under Delaware law, executive compensation decisions by a corporation’s board of directors generally are entitled to deferential judicial review, and even...more
Urdan v. WR Capital Partners, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0343-JTL (Del. Ch. Aug. 19, 2019).
It is well-settled Delaware law that the right to bring a derivative claim in the corporation’s name or a direct claim in the individual...more
In re Towers Watson & Co. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2018-0132-KSJM (Del. Ch. July 25, 2019).
The ultimate responsibility for considering a merger falls on the board to carry out consistent with each directors’...more
Reith v. Lichtenstein, C.A. No. 2018-0277-MTZ (Del. Ch. June 28, 2019).
As Reith explains, directors may lose the protections of the business judgment rule and expose themselves to liability if they knowingly or...more
Chester Cty. Emps.’ Ret. Fund v. KCG Holdings, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0421-KSJM (Del. Ch. June 21, 2019).
Under Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC, 125 A.3d 304 (Del. 2015), Delaware courts generally will dismiss...more
Stein v. Blankfein, C.A. No. 2017-0354-SG (Del. Ch. May 31, 2019).
Recently, the Delaware Supreme Court held in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, 177 A.3d 1208 (Del. 2017) that stockholder approval of...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
2/25/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Elon Musk ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Section 220 Request ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Tesla
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
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