The Delaware Court of Chancery’s recent opinion in XRI Investment Holdings LLC v. Holifield, No. 2021-0619-JTL (Del. Ch. Sept. 19, 2022), should be included in the pantheon of consequential Delaware Chancery opinions and will remain noteworthy for many reasons that deserve to be the subject of a law review article, but for purposes of this short blog post, I only intend to highlight a few of the many gems in this 154-page magnum opus with the most widespread applicability  to those engaged in Delaware corporate and commercial litigation.

Brief Background

The background facts are described in the first 50 pages or so of the opinion, but for purposes of this high-level short overview, this case involved a disputed transfer of interests in an LLC that were alleged to be in violation of the transfer restrictions in the LLC Agreement.  The membership interests were used as security for a loan, and upon default the membership interests were foreclosed upon in an inequitable manner.

Key Points

This opinion engages in a deep and comprehensive analysis regarding the historical foundation of equitable defenses and their applicability to claims that are not the type of traditional claims pursued in a court of equity, as well as other key aspects of Delaware Law, including a discussion of:

  • The Step-Transaction Doctrine and when a series of transactions will be treated as a unitary whole.
  • Void and voidable transactions–and when an act will be treated as void ab initio, in which event it generally cannot be cured or defended against.
  • Equitable Defenses: Some, such as laches, can only be asserted as defenses to equitable claims–but other equitable defenses, such as acquiescence, are available to defend against both equitable and legal claims. This holding by the Court is contrary to a “smattering of recent decisions” in Chancery that did not fully address “nuances that permeate this area of the law”.
  • This decision attempts to bring more harmony and cohesiveness to that smattering of recent decisions.
  • The Court examines in extensive depth the somewhat ancient historical origins of the courts of equity, and the claims and defenses permitted in those courts.
  • The always useful fundamentals of contract interpretation are reviewed as well. See pages 45-47
  • The Court addresses the distinction between: (i) a “right tied to an ownership interest in an entity” and (ii) “the right to whatever cash that interest might generate once it reaches a particular person’s pocket”. See footnote 25. Also cited in the footnote is the recent Supreme Court opinion in Protech Minerals Inc. v. Dugout Team LLC, 288, 2021 (Del. Sept 2, 2022), and the important need to distinguish between the above two concepts.
  • Although the Court of Chancery faithfully (but maybe reluctantly) follows the Supreme Court’s precedent in CompoSecure LLC v. Card UX, LLC, No. 177, 2018 (Del. Nov 7, 2018), regarding void transactions, in dictum the opinion encourages the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision in CompoSecure. A polite list of reasons is offered for why Delaware’s high court should reconsider that precedent, in part because it prevented the trial court in this case from avoiding an inequitable result–and because there is a need to harmonize several areas of Delaware law at issue in this case. See page 111.
  • For example, current Supreme Court precedent allows parties to an agreement to declare certain acts as void–not voidable–and this current ability to “contract out” of equitable review and prevent a court of equity from applying its traditional equitable powers and remedies, deserves (reasoned this opinion respectfully), to be revisited.
  • Among the multi-faceted aspects of the opinion’s rationale for encouraging the  Delaware Supreme Court to reconsider its CompoSecure opinion, this opinion cites to basic contract principles under the common law that considered some contracts as void ab initio if they were violative of public policy. See footnotes 58 to 62 and related text. See also footnotes 65 to 68 regarding the aspects of corporate charters and bylaws that are subject to the limitations of the DGCL because corporations are creatures of the state.
  • This Court of Chancery decision importantly notes that the Delaware LLC Act recognizes that principles of equity apply in the LLC context. See footnote 96. (Cue: the “maxims of equity”.)
  • Even though the Court of Chancery held that its holding was “contrary to the equities of the case”, it held that the result was controlled by precedent–that should be revisited.

Postscript

  • There are also other areas of Delaware LLC law, not addressed in this opinion, that are not well-defined or could benefit from clarification by Delaware’s highest court, to harmonize a “smattering of Chancery decisions”, but most parties on the unpleasant side of a decision do not have the benefit of the author of the trial court opinion assisting with appellate arguments.
  • This case may also provide a reminder of the truism that the victor in a trial court decision should not celebrate too much, or too soon, while the decision is pending on appeal. (Non-Delaware readers should know that there is no intermediate appellate court in Delaware.)