News & Analysis as of

Books & Records Section 220 Request Delaware General Corporation Law

Woodruff Sawyer

The ABCs of Corporate Law: Reforming Section 220 Demands

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For many years, plaintiffs’ lawyers have used Section 220 requests to harass Delaware corporations. Typically, books and records demands are intrusive and annoying—and nothing more. However, in some cases, plaintiffs have...more

Cooley LLP

Delaware Amends Section 220 – Will Scope of ‘Books and Records’ Production Be Limited?

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On March 25, 2025, the Delaware Legislature enacted Senate Bill 21, significantly amending the Delaware General Corporation Law. Among its notable changes is an effort to narrow document production under Section 220, which...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Proposed 2025 Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

For decades, Delaware has been widely regarded as the leading forum for incorporation in the United States. More than half of all publicly traded U.S. companies, including more than two-thirds of the Fortune 500, have made...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Determines Certain Suits and Investigations Against Amazon Were Insufficient to Meet Credible Basis Standard to Inspect...

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Wong Leung Revocable Tr. v. Amazon.com Inc., C.A. No. 2023-1251-BWD (Del. Ch. May 1, 2024) - In order to inspect books and records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, a stockholder-plaintiff must...more

Mayer Brown

A Matter Of Propriety: Delaware Courts Reject Books-and-Records Demand Driven by Ulterior Motive

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Section 220 demands are a commonly used tool for stockholders to gain access to a company’s books and records. Although this provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law vests stockholders with a right of access thereto,...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - December 2023

In this issue, we discuss recent Delaware court developments regarding officer liability, who can recover “lost-premium” damages, and trends in books and records actions, among other topics....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Books and Records Demands 2023 Recap: Courts Continue To Develop the Law Regarding the Scope of Inspection

As discussed in prior articles, stockholder plaintiffs have increasingly sought to obtain companies’ books and records under 8 Del. C. § 220 (Section 220) and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act’s analogous provision,...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Orders Company to Produce Books and Records in Response to Section 220 Demand and Grants Stockholder Leave to Seek Fees...

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Myers v Academy Securities, Inc. C.A. No. 2023-0241-BWD (Del. Ch. July 24, 2023). Under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law ("DGCL"), stockholders are entitled to corporate books and records if they make a...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Re-Affirms that Director-Designating Investor is Entitled to Privileged Communications from Company Counsel in...

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An employee, agent or principal of an investor is often designated to serve on a company’s board of directors when that company receives an investment or acquires the investor. That board member then becomes privy to legal...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Developments and Trends in Delaware Law: A Review of 2022 and What To Expect in 2023

On January 24, 2023, Skadden presented the fourth and final part of our 15th Annual Securities Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement Update series, “Developments and Trends in Delaware Law: A Review of 2022 and What to Expect...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Current Bounds on Books and Records Demands

For decades, Delaware courts have encouraged stockholders to use the “tools at hand” — before initiating lawsuits — by obtaining corporations’ books and records through 8 Del. C. § 220 (Section 220). As described in prior...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Rules That Delisted and Long-Dark Corporation Failed To Show Harm Warranting a Confidentiality Order for Basic Financial...

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Rivest v. Hauppauge Digital, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0848-PWG (Del. Ch. Sept. 1, 2022) - Plaintiff stockholder sought to inspect the books and records of a defendant company, requesting a narrow universe of annual and...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Gad-Zoox: Stockholders Obtain Books and Records Through Statutory Appraisal Proceeding, and Other Section 220 Developments

As discussed in prior issues, Delaware courts have recently refined and limited defenses to Section 220 books and records actions. No longer does a stockholder need to specify the ends to which it might use the books and...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The Corporate Guide: Protecting Emails from Production

Last week’s Corporate Guide discussed one circumstance — in the context of stockholder litigation — where directors’ and officers’ emails may be requested and produced, a books and records demand under Section 220 of the...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Shifts Fees, Finds That Defendant’s Litigation Tactics in Books and Records Case Crossed The Line Between Aggressive...

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Pettry, et al. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., C.A. Nos. 2020-0132-KSJM; 2020-0138-KSJM; 2020-0155-KSJM; 2020-0173-KSJM (Del. Ch. July 22, 2021). Delaware follows the American Rule: all litigants pay their own attorneys’ fees,...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Delaware Court of Chancery Finds That Crossing the “Fine Line Between Glaringly Egregious Conduct and an Aggressive Litigation...

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As discussed last January, Delaware courts have lowered the threshold for stockholders to gain access to books and records. Stockholders are permitted to obtain books and records so long as they can show a credible basis to...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Awards Attorneys’ Fees After Gilead’s “Glaringly Egregious” Litigation Conduct

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Delaware Court of Chancery Awards Attorneys’ Fees After Gilead’s “Glaringly Egregious” Litigation Conduct; S.D.N.Y Grants Plaintiffs’ Partial Summary Judgment in Securities Class Action Against Perrigo; SPAC Investors Launch...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Delaware Courts Expand Plaintiffs’ Rights in Section 220 Cases

The rise in Section 220 demands (and related lawsuits) has resulted in several recent opinions that continue a trend in favor of greater access for stockholders to corporate books and records. These decisions, which are...more

Goodwin

Biogen Inc. Wins Some, Loses Some, in Delaware Chancery Court Corporate Records Suit

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Biogen Inc. Wins Some, Loses Some, In Delaware Chancery Court Corporate Records Suit; Southern District of Florida Dismisses Securities Fraud Class Action Against Norwegian Cruise Lines Stemming From Alleged Impacts of...more

Morris James LLP

Delaware Corporate and Commercial Case Law Year in Review: 2020

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This top ten list summarizes significant decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery over the past calendar year. Our criteria for selection are that the decision either meaningfully changed...more

Proskauer - Minding Your Business

Bearing the Books and Records Burden: Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Section 220 Order in AmerisourceBergen

This past year, Proskauer’s private fund litigation blog highlighted a Delaware Chancery case adopting an expansive view in favor of parties seeking information from companies under Section 220 of the Delaware General...more

Snell & Wilmer

How Much Information Must a Shareholder Provide to a Corporation to Inspect Books and Records Under Section 220?

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The Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed a decision by the Court of Chancery that ordered a corporation to produce certain books and records to a shareholder, and which granted leave to the shareholder to take a...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Developments in Delaware Corporation Law

The Delaware Court of Chancery’s docket exploded with expedited “broken” deal litigation in 2020, driven by the impact of COVID-19. Beyond pandemic-related merger litigation, stockholder plaintiffs remained focused on claims...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Provides Important Guidance Regarding Section 220 Demands, Rejecting Several Limiting Principles Frequently...

Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, 8 Del. C. § 220 (“Section 220”), permits a stockholder of a Delaware corporation to inspect corporate books and records upon a showing of a proper purpose. The Delaware...more

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Stockholders Need Ordinarily Only Identify a ‘Credible Basis’ for Possible Wrongdoing, Not...

Last week, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an important decision effectively broadening the scope of stockholder pre-litigation inspection rights. ...more

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