News & Analysis as of

Board of Directors Merger Agreements Shareholder Litigation

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Delaware Supreme Court reverses acquirer’s aiding and abetting liability, setting high bar, following precedent set by its recent...

On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court (Court), sitting en banc, reversed a Court of Chancery ruling that had held a bidder liable for aiding and abetting fiduciary breaches of the target’s management....more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Finds a ~27% Founding Stockholder Is Not a Controller

On July 2, 2024, the Delaware Chancery Court in Sciannella v. AstraZeneca dismissed stockholder claims in connection with the $3 billion merger of Viela Bio and Horizon Therapeutics in 2021. The merger was approved by Viela’s...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

"Market Practice" 2024 DGCL Amendments Become Effective

Troutman Pepper Locke on

The amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) are effective yesterday, August 1, and will apply retroactively to agreements and contracts that a Delaware corporation entered into, or that a Delaware...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Dismisses Aiding And Abetting Fraud Claim Against Corporate Officers And Directors On Grounds That A Corporation...

Morris James LLP on

Urvan v. AMMO, Inc., Consol. C.A. No. 2023-0470 PRW (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2024, corrected Mar. 14, 2024) - It is an axiom of Delaware law that a corporation acts through its human agents. This principle informs the causes of...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Proposed Amendments to the DGCL Address Issues Raised by Recent Delaware Court Decisions

On March 28, 2024, the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association approved legislation proposing to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in response to recent Delaware Court of...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

M&A in Brief: Q1 2024

In a letter ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court held that where neither the target nor the acquiror was a Delaware entity, the transaction documents between the parties could not confer jurisdiction in the Chancery Court...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

‘Busted Deals’ and Damages: Court of Chancery Clarifies Who Can Recover ‘Lost-Premium’ Damages

In October 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Court of Chancery addressed an issue of first impression in Crispo v. Musk, C.A. No 2022-0666-KSJM, holding that “a provision purporting to define a target...more

Hogan Lovells

In re Mindbody Inc., Stockholder Litigation: Court finds unfair sale process

Hogan Lovells on

In re Mindbody Inc., Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2019-0442-KSJM (Del. Ch. Mar. 15, 2023), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a CEO breached his fiduciary duties by taking steps the court found tilted a merger sale...more

Hogan Lovells

Q3 2021 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

Hogan Lovells on

Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the third quarter of 2021. This update is designed to highlight selected important M&A, corporate, and commercial court decisions on a quarterly basis. The...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Claims that a Minority Owner was a Controlling Stockholder or that a Majority of the Board was...

Morris James LLP on

In re: Essendant, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 2018-0789-JRS (Del. Ch. Dec. 30, 2019). When as here a Delaware corporation’s charter contains an exculpation provision under Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2018 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review

In 2018, the Delaware courts issued a broad range of important decisions addressing various corporate law and governance issues. Those decisions are relevant for public and private companies and will help shape...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2017 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review

In 2017, the Delaware courts once again issued many substantive corporate law decisions covering a wide range of issues critical to boards, stockholders, and officers. In addition, decisions from recent years continued to...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Chancery Court Holds That Well-Pled Unocal Claim Does Not Automatically Excuse Pre-Suit Demand

A&O Shearman on

On May 15, 2017, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Chancery Court dismissed a shareholder derivative action asserting that the directors of The Williams Companies, Inc. (“Williams”) breached their duty of...more

BakerHostetler

Notable Delaware Decisions: First Quarter 2017

BakerHostetler on

The Delaware Chancery Court and Delaware Supreme Court were busy during the first quarter of 2017, handing down decisions touching on: Required disclosure in a variety of settings – for standard-of-review “cleansing”...more

A&O Shearman

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Shareholder Suit, Finding Subject Matter Jurisdiction Was Properly Exercised, Equity Dilution...

A&O Shearman on

On April 26, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a shareholder of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (“Star Bulk”) against its directors and entities affiliated...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

"Key Developments in Delaware Corporation Law in 2016"

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

McCarter & English, LLP

Delaware Law Updates – Court of Chancery Puts Boards of Directors on Notice that Contracting Away Derivative Claims in a Merger...

Vice Chancellor Glasscock has held that a merger designed to eliminate derivative claims against a majority of directors justified the application of the entire fairness standard of review in a direct challenge to the merger....more

Morris James LLP

Court Of Chancery Explains Investment Banker Conflict Leads To Aiding And Abetting Claim

Morris James LLP on

Here the banker failed to make a timely disclosure to its client that it had previously pitched the buyer to make a bid for the client. The Court found that in the context of a motion to dismiss the Board may have breached...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

M&A Update: Fully Informed Vote of Disinterested Stockholders Results in Business Judgment Rule Protection in Post-Closing Review...

In an October 2, 2015 decision, Corwin, et al. v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC., et al., the Delaware Supreme Court clarified that once a merger closes, as long as it has been approved by a fully informed vote of the...more

Brooks Pierce

Minority Shareholder Owed No Fiduciary Duty To Other Shareholders In Merger Transaction

Brooks Pierce on

Judge Gale's decision earlier this month in Corwin v. British American Tobacco PLC, 2015 NCBC 74 dismissed all of the claims of the Plaintiff class. If the name Corwin is ringing a bell with you, his case is the shareholder...more

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