On February 9, 2018, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (“LSTA”) in its lawsuit against the...more
On February 1, 2018, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted defendants’ motion to dismiss an action brought by minority unitholders of Trumpet Search, LLC (“Trumpet” or the “Company”). The defendants were other unitholders...more
2/12/2018
/ Breach of Contract ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Delaware Limited Liability Company Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Implied Covenants ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Operating Agreements ,
Shareholder Litigation
The securities litigation and regulatory landscape in 2017 defies simple categorization. Plaintiffs filed 226 new federal class actions in the first half of 2017, more than double the average rate over the last 20 years, and...more
1/8/2018
/ Basic v Levinson ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Class Action ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Digital Realty Trust Inc v Somers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Indemnification ,
Insider Trading ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Martoma ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Petrobras ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
On December 14, the Delaware Supreme Court released a long-awaited opinion in Dell Inc. v. Magnetar Global Event Driven Master Fund Ltd. that reversed and remanded a high-profile appraisal case decided by the Delaware Court...more
On August 18, 2017, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted defendants’ motion to dismiss a class action brought by former minority stockholders of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (“MSLO”) against Martha Stewart and...more
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives threatens to shake up the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement program in a historic manner....more
6/12/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Government Investigations ,
Pending Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Wells Notice ,
White Collar Crimes
Two recent decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery faithfully apply the Delaware Supreme Court’s holding in Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC. No surprise there. Corwin held that when “a transaction not subject to...more
4/27/2017
/ Breach of Duty ,
Coercion ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fairness Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Markets ,
Merger Agreements ,
Revlon Standard ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Votes
Over the past few years, private equity funds and hedge funds have increasingly employed tactics traditionally employed by the other as part of their value maximization strategies. Underscoring this convergence has been a...more
3/3/2017
/ Filing Requirements ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Hedge Funds ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment ,
Private Equity ,
Schedule 13D ,
Section 16 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Value Maximization
2016 was an active year in securities litigation. In the first half of 2016 alone, plaintiffs filed 119 new federal class action securities cases. It was also a busy year for SEC enforcement proceedings, with a record 868...more
1/13/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Appointments Clause ,
Article II ,
Audits ,
Best Buy ,
C&DIs ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Confidential Information ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Form 10-K ,
Form 8-K ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Halliburton v Erica P. John Fund ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Janus Capital Group ,
Jurisdiction ,
Loss Causation ,
Mergers ,
Merrill Lynch v Manning ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Pensions ,
Personal Benefit ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PHH Corp. v CFPB ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulation S-K ,
Removal For-Cause ,
RESPA ,
Sanofi ,
Securities ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Short Selling ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Stock Prices ,
Unions ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman ,
Wells Notice ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
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
1/12/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Activist Investors ,
Appeals ,
Appraisal ,
Audit Committee ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Dell ,
Director Nominations ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Financial Adviser ,
Foreign Corporations ,
General Jurisdiction ,
Going-Private Transactions ,
Hertz ,
Indemnification ,
Jurisdiction ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Proxy Access ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholders ,
Sothebys ,
Special Committees ,
Squeeze-Out Mergers ,
Stocks ,
Trulia
On December 16, 2016, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a post-trial opinion in an appraisal proceeding arising from the acquisition of Lender Processing Services, Inc. (“LPS” or the “Company”) by Fidelity National...more
12/21/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
Business Valuations ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Financial Adviser ,
Mergers ,
Securities ,
Selling a Business ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Stock Prices ,
Technology Sector
Friends and relatives of corporate insiders who knowingly receive and trade on inside information now confront greater exposure for federal securities laws violations. On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court held in United...more
12/9/2016
/ Confidential Information ,
Dirks v SEC ,
Financial Markets ,
Illegal Tipping ,
Insider Trading ,
Non-Public Information ,
Personal Benefit ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Tippees ,
Tippers ,
US v Newman ,
US v Salman ,
White Collar Crimes