In its unanimous decision rendered on February 4, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Delaware Court of Chancery’s ruling in the widely followed “TripAdvisor” case (Palkon v. Maffei) regarding the standard of review...more
SCOTUS Grants Certiorari to Decide Whether Automatic Discovery Stay Applies to Securities Act Cases in State Court; Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Suit Against FedEx for Failure to Make Pre-Litigation...more
In a previous blog post, we discussed the Delaware Chancery Court’s decision in Saba Capital Master Fund, Ltd. v. Blackrock Credit Allocation Income Trust and its relevance to the interpretation of advance notice bylaw...more
The question of what constitutes a “securities claim” in the context of public company D&O policies is often debated in insurance coverage disputes, and the answer to this question can have significant effects on the scope of...more
In Marchand v. Barnhill, a unanimous Delaware Supreme Court imposed substantial new procedural expectations on corporate directors to satisfy their fiduciary duty of oversight related to material risk areas and legal...more
The first half of 2019 saw several decisions from the Delaware courts that will affect M&A dealmaking - Aruba: Supreme Court awards "deal price less synergies" in closely watched appraisal case - Rejecting the Chancery...more
The Delaware Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC1 fashioned a powerful defense in post-closing money damages cases for boards of directors by finding that business judgment deference applies...more
Recently, Delaware corporations faced with demands for books and records under 8 Del. C. § 220 have increasingly been forced to contend with demands for electronic communications, such as emails. Historically, the Delaware...more
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued its highly anticipated decision in the Verition Partners Master Fund Ltd. v. Aruba Networks, Inc. appraisal action. In a per curiam opinion, the Supreme Court reversed the Delaware...more
On January 29, 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court provided guidance to the Court of Chancery regarding the scope of a stockholder’s inspection rights under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law or similar LLC or...more
Under Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC1 and its progeny, “when disinterested, fully informed, uncoerced stockholders approve a transaction absent a looming conflicted controller,” the irrebuttable business judgment rule...more
• The Delaware Supreme Court delivered a gift to the plaintiffs' bar with its recent opinion reversing the Court of Chancery's In Re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation decision. • This decision, the first...more
• Directors were not entitled to stockholder ratification defense where stockholders only approved the general parameters of director and employee bonuses • This marks the first time in nearly 60 years that Delaware’s...more
On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more
In a much-anticipated decision, on June 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of Delaware reversed the Chancery Court's ruling in Chicago Bridge v. Westinghouse. The Delaware Supreme Court determined that an independent auditor...more
Stockholder claims alleging wrongful dilution are typically considered to be derivative in nature. Several decisions out of Delaware, however, have created exceptions to this general rule allowing stockholders to sue...more