News & Analysis as of

Breach of Duty Fiduciary Duty Corporate Officers

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Humble LLC Exculpation Clause Wins Big: Member/CEO Escapes $8M Fiduciary Claims

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

It’s difficult to assess the potency of section 417(a) of New York’s LLC law.  The provision starts off with a seemingly broad rule: “The operating agreement may set forth a provision eliminating or limiting the personal...more

Allen Matkins

Unreasonableness Or Carelessness Is Insufficient To Prove Liability In Nevada

Allen Matkins on

Nevada's exculpatory statute, NRS 78.138(7), requires a plaintiff to both rebut a statutory presumption of good faith and prove a breach of fiduciary duty involving intentional misconduct, fraud, or a knowing violation of the...more

Allen Matkins

When Dismissing A Case Violates Due Process

Allen Matkins on

When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation.  Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more

Allen Matkins

Just What Are The Duties Of A Controlling Shareholder And How Should Claims Of Breach Be Brought?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders.  Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more

Allen Matkins

Is Your Directors And Officers Liability Coverage Illusory?

Allen Matkins on

Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies.  Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides.  Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Court Affirms High Threshold for Breach of Directors' Caremark Duties

Bennett Jones LLP on

In a recent case, Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania (derivatively on behalf of Centene Corporation) v Brinkley (Centene), Delaware's Court of Chancery dismissed “Caremark duty claims”—named after the 1996 case...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Rejects The "Uncontrollable Child" Theory Of Parent-Subsidiary Relationships

Allen Matkins on

Nevada famously limits directors and officers from personal liability.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that Nevada is a "liability free" jurisdiction.  For example, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held that...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Courts Confirm High Standard for Breach of Oversight Duty Applies Equally to Officers and Directors

Bennett Jones LLP on

In the United States, corporate directors and, as confirmed by the Delaware Court in McDonald’s Corp. Stockholder Derivative Litigation (McDonald), corporate officers owe, as a subset of their duty of loyalty, a duty to...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The Delaware Court of Chancery Confirms that Duty of Oversight Claims Against Corporate Officers Are Subject to the Same High...

In Segway Inc. v. Hong Cai, 2023 Del. Ch. LEXIS 643 (Del. Ch. Dec. 14, 2023), the Delaware Court of Chancery (Will, V.C.) dismissed a claim for breach of fiduciary duty brought by Segway Inc. (the “Company”) against its...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Court of Chancery Finds Officer Liable for Competing With Corporation and Misappropriating Trade Secrets

On September 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. of the Court of Chancery delivered a decision finding that the president of a plaintiff company and a second business the president had formed and served...more

JAMS

Mediating Complex Corporate Disputes Involving Officers and Directors

JAMS on

Claims against corporate officers and directors most commonly are derivative claims brought on behalf of a corporation or LLC in which the company is a nominal plaintiff. These claims allege that the defendants have breached...more

Allen Matkins

Do Corporate Boards Necessarily Breach Their Fiduciary Duties When They Approve Illegal Conduct?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent blog post on the Business Law Prof Blog, Tulane Law professor Ann M. Lipton opined...more

Allen Matkins

Can One Shareholder Sue Another Shareholder For Breach Of Contract?

Allen Matkins on

One popular theory of the corporation is that it is a nexus of contracts.  As Frank Easterbrook and Daniel Fischel pithily pronounced "Corporations are enduring (relational) contracts."  F. Easterbrook and D. Fischel, The...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Officer Exculpation and the Silicon Valley 150

Effective August 1, 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) was amended to permit a Delaware corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

What Fiduciary Duties Do I Have as a Director of a Delaware Corporation?

You’re an entrepreneur, you form your first company, and suddenly you carry the title of founder, director, officer, and/or employee all at once. When running your business, it may feel like all of your roles blur together....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - June 2023

In a case of first impression, the Court of Chancery held recently that officers, like directors, owe their companies a duty of oversight, although the scope of that will vary with their responsibilities. Two other Chancery...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Delaware Court of Chancery Confirms Enforceability of NVCA Covenant Not to Sue for Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In New Enterprise Associates 14, L.P. v. Rich, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that a covenant not to sue for breach of fiduciary duty, which was contained in a stockholder's agreement and modeled after the NVCA model...more

Flaster Greenberg PC

Important Changes to Corporate Officers’ Fiduciary Duties in Delaware

Flaster Greenberg PC on

Corporate officers take note: Recent changes to Delaware law introduce a path towards additional protection and new potential liability for corporate officers. First, corporations may now amend their articles of incorporation...more

BCLP

Recent Delaware cases clarify Caremark oversight duties for directors and executive officers

BCLP on

A claim for breach of the duty of oversight is known as a Caremark claim, after the landmark Delaware Court of Chancery decision in In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation (1996). Since then, Delaware courts...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery Finds Revlon Violation For Founder Who Favored Buyer And Failed To Disclose, And Aiding & Abetting...

A&O Shearman on

On March 15, 2022, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled that the founder and former CEO of Mindbody Inc. (the “Company”) breached his fiduciary duties to stockholders in connection with the...more

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Delaware’s Duty of Oversight Applies to Corporate Officers

In a recent decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery determined for the first time that corporate officers owe a duty of oversight under Delaware Law. The case, In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation,...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

In Rare Decision, Delaware Court of Chancery Imposes Liability on CEO and Acquiror Post-Trial

On March 15, 2023, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a rare post-trial decision finding a CEO personally liable for millions of dollars in damages for breaching his fiduciary...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Court Extends a Director's Duty of Oversight to Officers—What Could This Mean for Canadian Directors and Officers?

Bennett Jones LLP on

In the United States, corporate directors owe, as a subset of their duty of loyalty, a duty to monitor and oversee the operations of the company, referred to as the "duty of oversight" in this blog. This duty is known as the...more

Polsinelli

Delaware Court of Chancery Establishes Duty of Oversight Extends to Officers

Polsinelli on

In a significant and far-reaching development in Delaware corporate law, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently held in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2021-0324-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan....more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Expands Duty of Oversight to Corporate Officers

Delaware law has long recognized a director’s duty of oversight. The well-established doctrine, first articulated in 1996 in In Re: Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation, was recently expanded to officers in In re...more

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