The Delaware Court of Chancery recently addressed an issue of importance to directors of companies as well as those interested in corporate litigation. In the case of Dore v. Sweports, Ltd., C.A. No. 10513-VCL (Del. Ch. Jan. 31, 2017), the court addressed situations where a director conceivably could be indemnified for fees incurred in pursuing an affirmative claim against the company as compared to the typical situation where indemnification is sought for reimbursement of fees incurred to defend a claim successfully. This opinion also provides an excellent overview of basic indemnification principles based on DGCL Section 145.

Background: The various lawsuits that gave rise to this indemnification action were based in large part on the attempts of the law firm of Sweports, Ltd. to collect legal fees.  One of the partners in the law firm was on the board of the company and also had to defend himself when the company filed counterclaims against the plaintiffs that were unsuccessful.  The lawyers who were seeking to collect their fees against the company ultimately commenced involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against the company.  The Delaware lawsuit was initiated after the lawyers for the company were largely successful in their lawsuits against the company to collect fees, and in defending claims against them made by the company.

Indemnification Principles

Section 145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) allows for indemnification in an action “other than by or in the right of the corporation.”  Section 145(b) provides for indemnification in an action “by or in the right of the corporation.”  Section 145(c) mandates that a Delaware corporation indemnify an individual who was sued by reason of the fact that the individual served as a director or officer if the individual was successful on the merits or otherwise in defending against the claim.  Although Section 145(c) only covers directors and officers, when a corporation has provided other authorized individuals with mandatory indemnification to the fullest extent of the law, then that right extends the mandatory indemnification contemplated by Section 145(c) to those individuals.

When assessing an indemnification claim, typically the first inquiry is whether the expense has been incurred in connection with a covered proceeding.  A covered proceeding is a civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action in which the individual seeking indemnification was a “party or threatened to be made a party by reason of the fact that the individual is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation.”  The corporation has the burden of proof when it has provided individuals with mandatory indemnification to the fullest extent of the law, to prove that an individual is not entitled to indemnification.

Typically, step two in the analysis after it is determined that a proceeding is covered, is to analyze whether the expenses incurred “were actually and reasonably incurred” in connection with the proceeding.  The court determined that only a small fraction of the expenses sought were actually incurred, and some of the expenses claimed were inflated.

The key aspect of this 58-page opinion of the Delaware Court of Chancery that makes it notable is that it addresses those situations in which an affirmative claim is indemnifiable, as compared with the more common claim for indemnification based on fees and expenses incurred to defend a claim brought against a director.

In this opinion, the Vice Chancellor explained that “it is conceivable that indemnification might be warranted for preemptive litigation involving personal claims that sought to negate a threatened breach of fiduciary duty claim . . ..”  The court explained that “. . . indemnification might be available if disposition of the personal claims would determine definitively whether the plaintiffs had breached their fiduciary duties.”  Typically, indemnification claims are not allowed for personal claims that are not brought “by reason of” the director’s duties, for example, in connection with an employment agreement that does not involve the exercise of judgment, discretion, or decision-making authority on behalf of the corporation.  The court referred to a prior Delaware decision in which indemnification was permitted for an intervenor where collateral estoppel might have barred a claim in a subsequent proceeding.

In this case, the plaintiffs chose to pursue their claims based on pure breach of contract theories untethered to their conduct as fiduciaries of Sweports.  Although they could have proceeded in a different manner, they only proceeded on a breach of contract theory.  The contract claims were personal to the plaintiffs in their capacity as lenders, creditors and guarantors – – which did not have a sufficient nexus implicating corporate duties.

The court did allow a portion of the fees and expenses incurred to defend against counterclaims which plaintiffs successfully defended, as well as related claims that were defensive in nature.  Finally, because the plaintiffs were only successful to a small degree in their claims seeking indemnification, the court only allowed a small percentage of the “fees on fees” that were incurred in connection with their effort in this case to collect fees.

Postscript: For the past several years, I have co-written a chapter of a book published by the ABA that compiles key court decisions from Delaware and around the country regarding both advancement and indemnification of corporate officers and directors, for example, pursuant to DGCL section 145.