The Ravenswood Investment Company, L.P. v. Winmill & Co. Incorporated,
C.A. No. 7048-VCN (Del. Ch. Dec. 31, 2014). This Chancery ruling limited the number of years that documents produced pursuant to DGCL Section 220 would need to be kept confidential. In addition, the court rejected the request that the receiving party indemnify the company for any violation of law committed by the receiving party which related to the use of the documents produced.
This decision did not cite to the Delaware Supreme Court’s Treppel decision of a few days earlier, highlighted on these pages, in which the high court allowed a forum selection requirement to be imposed as a pre-condition of producing records under Section 220. Prior Chancery decisions in this case were highlighted on these pages.
This is yet another example of how Section 220 cases, despite the apparent simplicity of the statute, can become protracted and expensive endeavors. Section 220 actions often prove to be neither for the faint-hearted nor for those with meager financial stamina.