On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a post-trial finding of aiding and abetting liability against a third-party arm’s-length buyer. In doing so, the court built upon another recent decision and reaffirmed...more
6/20/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Delaware ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mergers ,
Shareholder Litigation
Derivative Litigation Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Derivative Securities Action - Carpenters’ Pension Fund of Ill. v. Neidorff, No. 20-3216 (8th Cir. 2022) - Following Centene Corporation’s merger with Health Net,...more
9/12/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Materiality ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue of Inside the Courts — An Update From Skadden Securities Litigators includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided in May-August 2021....more
10/22/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Derivative Suit ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loss Causation ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose
Books and Records - Court of Chancery Orders Production of Emails, Denies Production of Privileged Communications in Books and Records Action - Emps.’ Ret. Sys. of R.I. v. Facebook, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0085-JRS (Del. Ch....more
6/9/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2020 and January 2021.
Derivative Litigation -
Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment...more
3/8/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Caremark claim ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Loss Causation ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Proxy Statements ,
PSLRA ,
Shareholder Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between July and October 2020.
Class Certification
- Cryptocurrency – Definition of a Security
- Derivative...more
12/11/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Derivative Suit ,
EBITDA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
Pleading Standards ,
PSLRA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Standing ,
Whistleblowers
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and June 2020....more
8/27/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Board of Directors ,
Bylaws ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Judicial Notice ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
PLSRA ,
Scienter ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Short-Swing Trading ,
Summary Judgment
This issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between October 2019 and January 2020. ...more
4/6/2020
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Bylaws ,
CEOs ,
Civil Liability ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Criminal Convictions ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
False Statements ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Injunctions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Item 303 ,
Lack of Particularity ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Price-Fixing ,
PSLRA ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Registration Statement ,
RICO ,
Scienter ,
Scope of Discovery Requests ,
Section 11 ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Summary Judgment
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between August and October 2019. The cases address developing trends in the definition of a security, fiduciary...more
11/27/2019
/ Appeals ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA
This issue focuses on important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including recent trends in Delaware corporate disclosure law, the Delaware Supreme Court’s important ruling in Marchand v....more
11/20/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Board of Directors ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Officers ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fair Valuation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Good Faith ,
Market Price ,
Material Misstatements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Mootness Fee Applications ,
Omissions ,
Oversight Committee ,
Oversight Duties ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholder Votes
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May and August 2019....more
10/2/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Deal Price ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fair Value Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Guilty Pleas ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Adviser ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Market Manipulation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Offering Documents ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
On June 18, 2019, in Marchand v. Barnhill, the Delaware Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr. on behalf of a unanimous court, issued a decision reversing the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of...more
6/21/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Good Faith ,
Independent Directors ,
Listeria ,
Oversight Duties ,
Pre-Suit Notice ,
Product Recalls ,
Reversal ,
Shareholder Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February and April 2019. ...more
6/12/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
Omissions ,
Omnicare ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Scienter ,
Securities ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between December 2018 and February 2019....more
3/14/2019
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Loss Causation ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nutraceutical Corp v Lambert ,
Omnicare v Laborers District Council ,
Pleading Standards ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
PSLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
SLUSA ,
Standing
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between September 2018 and October 2018. ...more
12/7/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Appointments Clause ,
Breach of Duty ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Institutions ,
General Partnerships ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Funds ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Material Adverse Effects ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Merger Agreements ,
Mergers ,
MFW ,
Misrepresentation ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
PSLRA ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
Section 11 ,
Securities ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
Squeeze-Out Mergers
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2018 and August 2018....
US Supreme Court -
Supreme Court Holds That SEC Administrative Law Judges...more
9/28/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Appraisal ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Class Certification ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Deal Price ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Statements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Insider Trading ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
Lucia v SEC ,
Mergers ,
Misleading Statements ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pleading Standards ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
TRO
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between February 2018 and May 2018.
...more
7/3/2018
/ China Agritech Inc v Resh ,
Chipotle Grill ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Class Members ,
Cyan Inc v Beaver Cty Emps Ret Fund ,
Derivative Suit ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Etsy ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
FRCP 23 ,
Loss Causation ,
Materiality ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Price-Fixing ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
SolarCity ,
State Law Claims ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Tesla
This quarter's issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2017 and January 2018. The cases address developing trends in appraisal, class certification, core...more
3/27/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Buyouts ,
CEOs ,
Claim Preclusion ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Core Operations Doctrine ,
Corwin Doctrine ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Dell ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Director Compensation ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
High-Speed Trading ,
Loss Causation ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Mergers ,
Motion to Amend ,
Petrobras ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pleading Standards ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Presumption of Reliance ,
Proximate Cause ,
PSLRA ,
Ratification ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Scienter ,
Section 220 Request ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
SRO ,
Stock Drop Litigation
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May 2017 and August 2017....more
9/28/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Appraisal ,
CalPERS ,
CalPERS v ANZ Securities ,
Equitable Tolling ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Materiality ,
Mergers ,
PLSRA ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations
Delaware courts tackled a number of issues of importance in 2015. The Delaware Supreme Court clarified prior inconsistent case law by reiterating that deference must be given to decisions made by disinterested directors. It...more
1/21/2016
/ Agency Deference ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Honest Belief Defense ,
Personal Liability ,
Securities Litigation ,
Stock-for-Stock Merger
We are pleased to share with you the inaugural issue of Insights: The Delaware Edition, a periodic publication addressing significant Delaware deal litigation and corporation law developments.
In This Issue:
- Q&A...more
10/23/2015
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Appraisal Rights ,
Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Bylaws ,
C-Suite Executives ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
COOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Damages ,
DE Supreme Court ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Directors ,
Disclosure-Based Settlements ,
Dole Food ,
Due Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Fraud ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Mergers ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Release Agreements ,
Remedies ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Special Committees ,
Standard of Review ,
State of Incorporation ,
Take-Private Transactions ,
Unfair Dealing
In This Issue:
- U.S. Supreme Court:
..Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers Dist. Council Constr. Indus. Pension Fund, 135 S. Ct. 1318 (4th Cir. Mar. 16, 2015)
- Auditor Liability:
..In re Advanced Battery Techs.,...more
6/2/2015
/ Auditors ,
Books & Records ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Justifiable Reliance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Pleading Standards ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Fraud ,
Settlement ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Statute of Repose ,
Whistleblowers