In Young v. Klaassan, (Del. Ch., April 25, 2008), read opinion here, the Chancery Court granted a motion to compel discovery of the documents that a special litigation committee relied on, and because the defendant referred to the committee’s finding in its motion to dismiss. The court did not accept the argument that the references to the
April 2008
Chancery Provides Practical Guidance on “Inadvertent Waiver of Attorney/Client Privilege” and “Avoiding a Motion to Compel”
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Chancery Court Updates
In re Kent County Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances Litigation Consolidated, (Del. Ch., April 18, 2008), read opinion here.
The purpose of this post is to provide excerpts on discovery issues listed in the title above that every business litigator will encounter from time to time, and in those instances this decision will be a useful…
Justice Scalia’s New Book on “How to Persuade Judges”
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
Here is an article from Law.com about the interview last night on 60 Minutes, of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the first full-scale broadcast interview he has ever given since he became a SCOTUS justice 22 years ago. In my view he is the best writer on the High Court . He just wrote…
Delaware General Corporation Law in the 21st Century Symposium
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
On May 5th, Widener University School of Law in collaboration with Corporation Service Company (CSC) will be hosting a one day, interactive symposium which looks at The Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) in the 21st Century. The symposium aims to provide a forum to generate the best current thinking on how the DGCL needs to…
Survey Says: Delaware Courts Are Number 1 Again
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its annual survey of the legal systems of the 50 states according to corporate lawyers who were polled, and for the 7th year in a row, the Delaware court system retained its number 1 ranking among the states in most categories. Here is a link to the report. The…
S.D.N.Y. Applies Delaware Law to Dismiss Suit Based on Ruling that Pre-Suit Demand Not Excused
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Other Court Decisions
In re Morgan Stanley Derivative Litigation, No. 05 Civ. 6515 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2008). The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York applied Delaware law to dismiss a derivative suit in this case based on the failure to establish that pre-suit demand was excused. One of the claims was that disclosures…
Advice to Directors Based on Delaware Law
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
Here is a link via the Harvard Corporate Governance Law Blog to a memo by the Wachtell Lipton firm that provides wide-ranging suggestions to directors based on Delaware fiduciary duty case law, along with practical commentary that in some respects is akin to business advice on best practices for boards of directors to follow.
Chancery Decides Issue of First Impression: Nomination of Directors is Part of Right to Elect Directors
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Chancery Court Updates
Levitt Corp. v. Office Depot, Inc., 2008 WL 1724244 ( Del. Ch., April 14, 2008), read opinion here. The Delaware Chancery Court was presented in this case with differing interpretations of an "advance notice bylaw" and the argument by Office Depot that Levitt did not comply with the requirements of the bylaw related to Levitt’s attempt to nominate…
Delaware Chancery Court Interprets Lease Under D.C. Law
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Chancery Court Updates
Liberty Property Limited Partnership v. 25 Massachusetts Avenue Property LLC, (Del. Ch., April 7, 2008), read opinion here. Even though the focus of this blog is on business litigation cases that apply Delaware law, I include this recent decision that applies the law of the District of Columbia because this 50-page opinion provides…
Welcome to the United States, Holy Father
By Francis Pileggi on
Posted in Commentary
Regardless of one’s religious persuasion or disinclination, I think that the visit starting today of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI is an occasion for celebrating hope for all that is good and can be good about mankind, and for promoting peace and goodwill among all people. Here is a link for anyone who wants to…