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Fiduciary Duty Securities Litigation

Stinson - Corporate & Securities Law Blog

Chancery Dismisses Three-Pronged Breach of Fiduciary Claims

The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed three claims in Ritchie v. Baker (6/25). Broadly speaking, the plaintiff failed to adequately plead demand futility under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1 because the complaint did not...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

District Court Strikes Down $40 Million Settlement Agreement in Target Date Funds Case Based on Parallel SEC Settlement

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On May 19, 2025, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (the “Court”) denied final approval of a $40 million proposed settlement in a major class action lawsuit against The Vanguard Group,...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

Hogan Lovells

Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital: fiduciary duties claims abound for SPAC sponsors and directors

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In Solak v. Mountain Crest Capital, the Delaware Court of Chancery found that a stockholder plaintiff pleaded a viable breach of fiduciary duty claim based on an alleged failure of the board of directors of a SPAC to disclose...more

Allen Matkins

Judge Rules Shareholders Can Pursue Derivative Claim Following A "Conversion"

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A year ago, I posited the question whether a derivative suit can survive a conversion. I raised that question in reference to Palkon v. Maffei, 2024 WL 678204 (Del. Ch. Feb. 20, 2024), in which the plaintiffs unsuccessfully...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

SEC Briefs Disgorgement and Investor Harm in Navellier v. SEC

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In the recent Supreme Court case, Navellier & Associates, Inc. v. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the petitioners sought a writ of certiorari challenging the decisions of the lower courts regarding the scope of...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Derivative Suit Exposure: More Art Than Science

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Derivative suits are a topic of discussion that continues to challenge directors, officers, and insurers alike. The issue is particularly fraught for individual directors and officers because Delaware-incorporated companies...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Sec Lit IQ: MoFo’s Quarterly Federal Securities Litigation and Delaware Corporate Litigation Newsletter (Q1 2025)

In our second edition of MoFo’s quarterly federal securities and Delaware corporate litigation newsletter, we provide a rundown of select developments from the first quarter of 2025. The Ninth Circuit Confirms That...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

First Circuit Questions Materiality in SEC's Case Against Commonwealth Equity Services

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On April 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a summary judgment ruling in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Commonwealth Equity Services, LLC, also known as Commonwealth...more

Morgan Lewis

First Circuit Vacates $93 Million Judgment for SEC, Including $65 Million Disgorgement Award

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On April 1, the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated a $93 million judgment for the SEC against Commonwealth Financial, including a $65 million disgorgement award. The three-judge panel concluded that the...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

First Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment Award and $93 Million Order in Revenue Sharing Case

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On April 1, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned a $93 million judgment issued against Commonwealth Financial Network (“Commonwealth”) nearly one year ago in a case by the Securities and...more

Allen Matkins

Unreasonableness Or Carelessness Is Insufficient To Prove Liability In Nevada

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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

Woodruff Sawyer

SPAC Perspective: What Do We Do About Cayman?

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Cayman continues to be a hot topic among SPACs. It comes up in almost every conversation I have about SPACs and de-SPACs. My clients are asking: Should they incorporate in the Cayman Islands and then remain there after their...more

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Affirms Chancery Decision of Near-Record $267 Million Fee Award

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In re Dell Techs. Inc. Class V S’holders Litig., No. 349, 2023 (Del. Aug. 14, 2024) - After an appeal of the second-largest fee award in Delaware history, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Chancery had...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Proposed 2025 Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law

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

Alston & Bird

Delaware Introduces Legislation to Overhaul, Strengthen D&O and Controlling Stockholder Legal Protections

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Our Securities Litigation and Securities Groups examine a Delaware bill (SB 21) that would enhance the state’s legal protections for corporations and their directors, officers, and controlling stockholders....more

Morris James LLP

Anonymous Sources in Newspaper Articles Sufficed to Sustain Credible Evidentiary Basis for Books and Records Demand Investigating...

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Stockholders in a Delaware corporation are entitled to inspect certain of the company’s books and records, under Delaware General Corporation Law Section 220. A prerequisite to inspection is that the stockholder has a proper...more

ArentFox Schiff

ESG Update: Political Pressure and Courts Roll Back Corporate ESG Efforts

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The second Trump presidency has arrived. With it – and particularly the Trump Administration’s push back on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming at many levels – many organizations are under increased pressure...more

Perkins Coie

When Is a Minority Stockholder a Controller? The Delaware Supreme Court Reaffirms the Ground Rules in In Re Oracle Derivative...

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Controlling stockholders owe fiduciary duties to other stockholders that minority stockholders do not. A holder of over 50% of a corporation’s voting power is clearly a controlling stockholder. As a consequence, transactions...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Provides Much-Anticipated Clarity on Reincorporations

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This case stems from the proposed reincorporations of Tripadvisor, Inc. and Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings, Inc. from Delaware to Nevada, which were first presented to the corporations’ respective stockholders for approval in...more

Miller Canfield

American Airlines Breaches Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty with BlackRock ESG Funds in 401(k) Plans

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Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Challenges to Sale of Company by Private Equity Controller, Assesses Transaction Under Business...

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On January 7, 2025, Vice Chancellor Glasscock issued a 68-page post-trial decision in Manti Holdings, LLC v. The Carlyle Group Inc., in which he rejected plaintiffs’ claims of breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the...more

Alston & Bird

Seventh Circuit Deals Another Blow to M&A Disclosure Claims

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Our Securities Litigation Group reviews a recent ruling from the Seventh Circuit that could make it more difficult for shareholders to bring M&A disclosure claims....more

Jones Day

2023 Securities Litigation Year in Review

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During 2023, securities lawsuit filings rose for the first time in four years. Settlements declined last year; there were nine mega-settlements of more than $100 million, including a $1 billion settlement. Case filings...more

Woodruff Sawyer

SPACs Poised to Turn a Corner in 2024: Annual Risk Update

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Here we are again—another year of SPAC ennui. We’re hearing derisive comments about the death of SPACs, unending deadline extensions, almost 200 liquidations, 70 deal terminations, and general SPAC malaise. If you’ve followed...more

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