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Shareholder Litigation Breach of Duty

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

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Delaware Supreme Court reverses acquirer’s aiding and abetting liability, setting high bar, following precedent set by its recent...

On June 17, 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court (Court), sitting en banc, reversed a Court of Chancery ruling that had held a bidder liable for aiding and abetting fiduciary breaches of the target’s management....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

Cole Schotz

Plaintiffs Raise Constitutional Challenges to March 2025 Milestone Amendments to the DGCL; Delaware Governor Matt Meyer Files...

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As noted in our prior blog post, on March 25, 2025, significant amendments to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the DGCL), were adopted by the Delaware General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Matt...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Tardy Plaintiff’s Best Friend: The Open Repudiation Doctrine

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Pre-answer motions to dismiss for untimeliness are exceptionally common in business divorce litigation. Statute of limitations analysis can be deceptively simple in theory, but elusively difficult in practice, even for...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Applying a “Meaningful Linkage” Standard, Delaware Superior Court Concludes Two Lawsuits Do Not “Arise Out Of” Interrelated...

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The Delaware Superior Court has held that an underlying shareholder lawsuit and prior litigation alleging certain common facts did not arise out of Interrelated Wrongful Acts, and did not trigger either the Prior Notice or...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

Cooley LLP

In Rare Dismissal of Up-C Reorganization Case, Chancery Court Holds That Claim Is Derivative, Not Direct 

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On April 10, 2025, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted a motion to dismiss in a breach of fiduciary duty action arising from BGC’s conversion from an Up-C corporation to a traditional full C corporation. While multiple...more

Hogan Lovells

Landmark Victory secured for Asia Cement Corporation in Hong Kong High Court

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In civil litigation, the parties are strictly bound by their pleadings and it is not permissible to deviate from the same. Serious allegations of fraud or dishonesty must be pleaded distinctly and with the utmost...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Applies the American Rule and Denies Attorneys’ Fees Despite Fiduciary Breach

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In re Straight Path Commc’ns Inc. Consol. S’holder Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0486-SG (Del. Ch. Oct. 29, 2024) - The Court of Chancery in this stockholder class action refused to award attorneys’ fees where the Court found the...more

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Governance Insights: Dual Fiduciaries – A Cautionary Tale for Nominee Directors

The latest edition of Davies’ Governance Insights is now available. In this issue, we review the Manti Holdings decision from Delaware. For boards, nominees and nominating shareholders, the decision is a reminder of the...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court: Chapter 7 Filing Defeats Shareholder Breach Of Fiduciary Claim

Allen Matkins on

Globe Photos, Inc. owned a portfolio of millions of images of celebrities and musicians, including Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, some taken by famous photographers such as Frank Worth.  Despite these assets,...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

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

Flaster Greenberg PC

Amendments to Delaware General Corporation Law

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On March 25, Delaware amended two (2) sections of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) in response to reports that prominent corporations are considering leaving Delaware in light of several significant court...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds Defendant Breached Fiduciary Duties by Failing to Distribute Assets Equally During Dissolution of LLC

Morris James LLP on

Mehra v. Teller, C.A. No. 2019-0812-KSJM (Del. Ch. Sept. 20, 2024) - In this post-trial decision, the plaintiffs claimed that one of the defendants breached his fiduciary duties by failing to distribute assets equally at...more

Carey Olsen

Shareholder and director remedies under Bermuda law

Carey Olsen on

There are approximately 16,000 companies registered in Bermuda, of which approximately 14,000 are international companies. As a result, Bermuda is a jurisdiction which deals with a large number of corporate governance...more

Hicks Johnson

SCOTX Ruling Confirms Individual Liability for Corporate Owners Who Commit Torts

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In Texas, as most other states, it is long settled that corporate agents are personally liable for their own tortious or fraudulent conduct—even if the conduct was done in their capacity as a corporate agent. Section 21.223...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds that Would-Be Caremark Plaintiffs Failed to Plead Demand Futility

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Bricklayers Pension Fund of W. Pa. v. Brinkley, C.A. No. 2022-1118-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 12, 2024) - In derivative cases where a stockholder-plaintiff has not made a pre-suit demand on the board of directors, demand futility...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds That Demand Was Not Wrongfully Refused When Considered by Working Group

Morris James LLP on

In re Kraft Heinz Demand Refused Derivative Stockholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2022-0398-LWW (Del. Ch. July 19, 2024) - By making a demand, a stockholder-plaintiff tacitly concedes that the board can impartially consider...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court of Chancery finds that stockholder ratification following adverse judgment does not absolve findings of breach of...

A&O Shearman on

Subsequent to the post-trial opinion by Chancellor McCormick in January 2024, Tesla appointed a new independent director to serve on a newly created independent committee, which issued a report recommending that stockholders...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Dismisses Fiduciary Duty Claim Against Directors Based on Disclosures Regarding the Company’s Purposes

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Stansell v. Rosensweig, C.A. No. 2023-0180-PAF (Del. Ch. June 12, 2024) - The plaintiff was a stockholder of a company that provided online education resources. Some of the company's customers used its products to cheat on...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

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Rejects ‘Caremark’ Liability for Imperfect Compliance With Legal Obligations

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Delaware corporations are not permitted to pursue profits by violating the law. Under Caremark and its progeny, directors’ fiduciary duties include the good faith obligation to oversee and monitor the corporation’s compliance...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

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