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
In Seavitt v. N-able, Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery held that certain governance rights granted to a corporation’s significant stockholders were statutorily invalid. This included a provision purporting to allow those...more
In the past year, more than 50 publicly traded companies, including 19 on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, have amended their bylaws to address the potential for a so-called “placeholder slate” of directors. The bylaw...more
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently invalidated a bylaw that required a supermajority vote of at least two-thirds of all outstanding shares to remove a director because it was inconsistent with the Delaware General...more
In Frechter v. Zier, C.A. No. 12038-VCG, 2017 WL 345142 (Del. Ch. Jan. 24, 2017) (Glasscock, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on a declaratory relief claim and held that 8...more
Section 141(d) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that the directors of any corporation may “be divided into 1, 2, or 3 classes”. It’s hard to make sense of this statement. First, I don’t believe that Delaware...more
In In re VAALCO Energy, Inc. Consolidated Stockholder Litigation, C.A. No. 11775 VCL (Del. Ch. Dec. 21, 2015) (Transcript), the Delaware Court of Chancery confirmed that the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of a...more
Section 141(k) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) contains the default rule that a corporation’s stockholders have the right to vote to remove directors from the board “with or without cause.” Section 141(k)...more
In a December 21, 2015 transcript ruling, the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated the provisions of VAALCO Energy, Inc.’s charter and bylaws that allow for removal of directors only “for cause” even though VAALCO’s board is...more