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Fiduciary Duty Corporate Officers Shareholder Litigation

PilieroMazza PLLC

Managing Litigation Risk During the Business Lifecycle, Part 5: Fiduciary Duties

PilieroMazza PLLC on

Litigation risk is an unavoidable aspect of running a business, but with thoughtful planning, exposure can be significantly reduced. From contractual disputes to employment disputes, potential legal challenges can arise at...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Significant DGCL Amendments Expand Protections for Corporate Insiders

Amendments to Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) broaden safe harbor protections for interested director and officer transactions and extend such protections to controlling stockholder transactions....more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Amends General Corporation Law to Stanch Company Exodus

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On March 25, Delaware adopted significant amendments to §§ 144 and 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law which aim to provide greater clarity and predictability to corporate fiduciaries in light of certain recent...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Watch Out for Auto-Delete: Delaware Court of Chancery Sanctions Former Meta Officer for Deleting Personal Emails

In a recent decision, In re Facebook Inc. Derivative Litigation, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery imposed litigation sanctions on a former officer and director of Meta Platforms, Inc....more

Mayer Brown

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

Mayer Brown on

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

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

Holland & Knight LLP

Delaware Supreme Court: Permissive Business Judgment Rule Applies to Corporate Conversions

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everal 2024 decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery led some prominent corporate leaders to express frustration over perceived increased liability standards for corporate officers and directors, even publicly advising new...more

Allen Matkins

FDIC Plans To Sue Silicon Valley Bank And Holding Company Directors And Managers

Allen Matkins on

Last week Kevin M. LaCroix reported that the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had voted unanimously to approve the staff’s request for authorization to file a suit against six former officers...more

Allen Matkins

Court Rules That When Profits Are Hypothetical There Can Be No Civil Theft

Allen Matkins on

Under California Penal Code Section 496(a) a person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or...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

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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

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year in Review

Wilson Sonsini is pleased to present the 2023 Delaware Corporate Law and Litigation Year In Review. In 2023, the Delaware courts issued many decisions addressing an array of important topics, including director and officer...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

Latham & Watkins LLP

California Court Adopts the Caremark Standard for Oversight Claims

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The decision articulates the standard for plaintiffs asserting derivative claims based on an alleged failure of oversight by directors and officers of California companies. Nearly three decades ago in the seminal case In...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

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Rejects Stockholder’s Section 220 Books And Record Demand In Connection With Corporation’s Expression...

A&O Shearman on

On June 27, 2023, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a judgment in favor of a “leading media and entertainment” company with a “substantial presence in Florida” (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 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

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Caremark Claims Against Directors For Failure To Allege Bad Faith After Permitting Related...

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On March 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed derivative claims brought by stockholders for breach of the fiduciary duty of oversight under Caremark against the directors of...more

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