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Fiduciary Duty Acquisitions Delaware General Corporation Law

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Erects a “Formidable Obstacle” to Proving Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in Merger Transactions

The In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation decision clarifies that a buyer may not be found liable for aiding and abetting a seller-side breach of fiduciary duty unless the buyer had actual knowledge—not merely...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Don’t Call It a Comeback: A Decade Later, the Corwin Doctrine Still Packs a Knockout Punch

The Delaware Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC1 reshaped the landscape of merger and acquisition litigation by establishing a powerful defense for Delaware companies. Under the Corwin...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Sets High Bar for Counterparty Aiding and Abetting Liability in M&A Deals

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The Delaware Supreme Court’s June 17, 2025 decision in In re Columbia Pipeline Group Merger Litigation reversed a $199 million damages award against TC Energy for aiding and abetting breaches by fiduciaries of Columbia...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms Protection of Arm’s-Length Bargaining

On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a post-trial finding of aiding and abetting liability against a third-party arm’s-length buyer. In doing so, the court built upon another recent decision and reaffirmed...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Claims Subject to Entire Fairness

On May 9, 2025, in Roofers Local 149 Pension Fund v. Fidelity National Financial, Inc. et al., the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a pre-trial motion to dismiss, even though the claims alleged a conflicted controller...more

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Rulings in Derivative Litigation Challenging Oracle’s NetSuite Acquisition

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In re Oracle Corp. Deriv. Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337 (Del. Jan. 21, 2025) - The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in favor of the defendants in a derivative suit challenging Oracle’s acquisition of...more

Baker Donelson

Delaware Revises Corporate Law to Strengthen Deals and Limit Stockholder Rights

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Delaware lawmakers recently enacted Senate Bill 21, a sweeping reform that significantly amends several sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL). The law introduces significant revisions aimed at increasing...more

Hogan Lovells

No breach of fiduciary duty where directors approved merger that stripped common stock of its value

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In Jacobs v. Akademos, the Delaware Chancery Court ruled that a cash-out merger that provided common shareholders in a privately held corporation, Akademos, Inc., with no value was nonetheless entirely fair. This decision...more

Mayer Brown

Delaware Law Alert: A Step-by-Step Approach for Boards Evaluating Conflicted Director, Officer, and Controlling Stockholder...

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In perhaps one of the most significant revisions to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), on March 25, 2025, the governor signed into law amendments overhauling much of the state’s law relating to conflicted...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds Sufficiently Pled Fiduciary Duty Claims Relating to De-SPAC Transaction

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Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital LLC, et al., C.A. No. 2023-0469-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 18, 2024) - The Court of Chancery found that the plaintiff stated legally-sufficient claims in connection with a merger transaction against...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Permits Reliance on News Articles and Information Post-Dating Books and Records Demand

On January 29, 2025, in State of Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer v. Paramount Global (the “Decision”), the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a post-trial opinion, broadening the types of sources a stockholder may...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Enacts Sweeping Changes to the Delaware General Corporation Law

On March 25, 2025, the governor of Delaware signed into law Senate Bill 21, over much opposition from the plaintiffs’ bar and some academics. The bill, which amends Sections 144 and Section 220 of the Delaware General...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

In re Oracle Corporation Derivative Litigation: Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Court Decision Not to Impose Fiduciary...

On January 21, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s decision in In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Lit., finding that a less than 50% stockholder does not owe fiduciary duties absent evidence of either...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Proposes Significant Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

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On February 17, 2025, Senate Bill No. 21 was introduced in the Delaware State Senate to amend the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL)....more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery “Barely” Sustains Claims Challenging Representations About Value Of SPAC Shares

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On October 18, 2024, Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss a putative class action brought by stockholders of special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) Mountain Crest Acquisition...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Recent Delaware Law Developments and Proposed Legislative Responses

The last several months have marked an extremely busy time in Delaware corporate law, with regard to decisions out of the Delaware courts, proposed legislative responses, and shifting market practices. In recent weeks in...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

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Claims Related To The Acquisition Of An Alleged Controller’s Portfolio Company For Failure To...

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On December 28, 2023, Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed derivative breach of fiduciary duty and other claims asserted by a plaintiff shareholder after nCino, Inc. (the “Corporation”)...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Decision Rejecting Fiduciary Duty Claims As To Allegedly Conflicted Acquisition Because It...

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On June 6, 2023, in an opinion authored by Justice Karen L. Valihura, the Supreme Court of Delaware sitting en banc unanimously affirmed judgment in favor of defendant, the CEO/Founder and then-Chairman (the “Chairman”) of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Concludes Founder And Largest Shareholder Was Not A Controller In Connection With Allegedly Conflicted...

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On May 12, 2023, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled in favor of defendant, the founder and largest shareholder (the “Founder”) of a technology company (the “Company”), on derivative...more

Hogan Lovells

Mere disagreement with merger decision not a cognizable claim under Delaware law

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The Delaware Court of Chancery, in Teamsters Local 677 Health Services & Insurance Plan v. Martell, C.A. No. 2021-1075-NAC (Del. Ch. January 31, 2023), granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss under Corwin. The court found...more

Goodwin

Delaware Chancery Court Clears Musk of Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim

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On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Inside the Courts – An Update From Skadden Securities Litigators - March 2021

This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between November 2020 and January 2021. Derivative Litigation - Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - December 2020

This issue covers important, developing areas of Delaware corporation law and deal litigation, including an increased focus on officer-related actions in merger litigation, the treatment of Caremark claims after Marchand and...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The “Long Goodbye” to Duty of Care as a Real Basis for Director Liability in M&A: The Legacy of Chancellor Allen

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The fiduciary duty of care has become more aspirational than a real legal basis for potential director liability in M&A in the Age of DGCL Section 102(b)(7), Corwin v. KKR Financial Holdings LLC (Del. 2015) and In re Volcano...more

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