In Re AbbVie Inc. Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 9983-VCG (Del. Ch. July 21, 2015). This Court of Chancery decision addresses the rare situation where equitable circumstances will allow an exception to the standing requirement for filing a derivative suit, which otherwise necessitates stock ownership at the time of the challenged transaction, based on Chancery Court Rule 23.1 and DGCL section 327.
The Court reasoned based on the circumstances of this case that the facts did not support an application of that equitable exception to the standing requirement, which was first articulated in the Delaware Chancery opinion of Shaev v. Wyly, 1998 WL 13858 (Del Ch Jan. 6, 1998) aff’d, 719 A.2d 490 (Del. 1998). This might be a somewhat esoteric aspect of corporate litigation but is still an important one for the right set of facts.