A recent Delaware Supreme Court opinion provides a tutorial on the standards imposed on Delaware lawyers when a deponent, who is the lawyer’s client, engages in inappropriate conduct during a deposition. See Shorenstein Hays-Nederland Theaters LLC Appeals, Nos. 596, 2018 and 620, 2018 (Del. Supr. June 20, 2019). My overview of the decision was the focus of … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court recently announced a decision of great importance for stockholder demands under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In Tiger v. Boast Apparel, Inc., No. 23, 2019 (Del. Supr. Aug. 7, 2019), the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that: (i) although inspection of records demanded by stockholders pursuant to Section 220 … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Supreme Court opinion addressed the independence and disinterestedness of corporate directors in the context of adequately pleading pre-suit demand futility as a prerequisite for pursuing a derivative claim. In Marchand v. Barnhill (Del. June 19, 2019), the court reversed the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of the case for failure to establish demand futility. … Continue Reading
Over the last 14 years that I have published this blog, I have compiled an annual review with a list of key Delaware corporate and commercial decisions that have widespread utility to practitioners, especially those court decisions that are not widely covered by other legal publications or the mainstream press. On a few occasions, I have prepared a mid-year … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision is noteworthy for: (1) addressing damages for breach of consent-rights, as well as (2) discussing the concept of efficient breach. In Leaf Invenergy Company v. Invenergy Renewals LLC, No. 308, 2018 (Del. Supr., May 2, 2019), the en banc court also engaged in a rare reversal of a Court … Continue Reading
Mitchell Mengden, a second-year law student at the Georgetown University Law Center, who will be clerking at the Delaware Court of Chancery for the 2020 term, prepared the following synopsis: The Delaware Supreme Court, in a per curiam decision, recently determined that “deal price less synergies” was the appropriate determination of fair value in the … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court recently clarified the “ab initio” requirement announced in the Kahn v. M&F Worldwide Corp. case as part of the set of standards that would allow for the BJR standard to apply to a challenged merger. See Olenik v. Lodzinski, No. 392, 2018 (Del. Supr., rev. April 11, 2019). The High Court … Continue Reading
Ameliorating the relative paucity of case law on the prerequisites for successfully motioning the Delaware Supreme Court for approval to file an amicus curiae brief, is a recent Order in the matter styled In re Verizon Insurance Coverage Appeals, Del. Supr., Nos. 558, 560, 561, 2018, Order (Del. Feb. 21, 2019). The Delaware Supreme Court via this Order denied a motion … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that clarifies the duty of a company to produce emails among its management in a Section 220 case. In KT4 Partners LLC v. Palantir Technologies, Inc., Del. Supr., No. 281, 2018 (Jan. 29, 2019), Delaware’s High Court addressed a demand under Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) Section … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision is must-reading for those who need to know the latest iteration of Delaware law on the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. In Oxbow Carbon & Minerals Holdings, Inc. v. Crestview-Oxbow Acquisition, LLC, Del. Supr. No. 536, 2018 (Jan. 17, 2019), Delaware’s High Court provided the latest … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court, in Akorn, Inc. v. Fresenius Kabi AG, et al., Del. Supr., No. 535, 2018 (Dec. 7, 2018), affirmed in a 3-page order, two days after oral argument, the Court of Chancery’s 253-page decision which was highlighted on these pages, and which is thought to be the first Delaware decision to find that a “material adverse … Continue Reading
The issue presented to the Delaware Supreme Court in Flood v. Synutra International, Inc., Del. Supr., No. 101, 2018 (Oct. 9, 2018), was whether it was proper for the Court of Chancery to apply the MFW standard by: “(i) allowing for the application of the business judgment rule if the controlling stockholder conditions its bid on both of the key procedural … Continue Reading
As foreshadowed earlier in a post about a recent Delaware Supreme Court Order whose purpose was to promote a better work-life balance for lawyers and their staff, the Court of Chancery recently amended its Rule 79.2 to require most filings to be made by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time in non-expedited cases. This does not apply to initial filings … Continue Reading
The recent decision of the Delaware Supreme Court in Morrison v. Berry, et al., Del. Supr., C.A. No. 445, 2017, July 9, 2018 (revised July 27, 2018), limited the application of the Corwin doctrine and prohibited the cleansing effect of stockholder approval, in part due to inadequate disclosures. See Corwin v. KKR Fin. Holdings LLC, … Continue Reading
The Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court issued an Order recently that seeks to improve work/life balance of both practicing lawyers and their staff. Among the most important aspects of the Order include the requirement that Delaware courts amend their rules and electronic filing policies to require all court filings in non-expedited matters, except … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court recently clarified for the first time the test to be used in Delaware to determine whether a contract’s terms are sufficiently definite to create an enforceable contract. In Eagle Force Holdings, LLC v. Campbell, No. 399, 2017 (Del. Supr., May 24, 2018), the court addressed whether various documents signed by the … Continue Reading
In one of my legal ethics columns for The Bencher, the publication of The American Inns of Court, I discuss a Delaware Supreme Court decision that resulted in the disbarment of an attorney for violation of a whole series of professional conduct rules including lack of candor towards the court and failure to address dishonesty … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision should be required reading for anyone involved with a forum non conveniens case in Delaware. Aranda v. Philip Morris USA Inc., Del. Supr., No. 525, 2016 (March 27, 2018), provides an overview of the Delaware law on forum non conveniens and clarified that even if it is a minority view among the 50 … Continue Reading
A recent article on The Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog collected decisions, mostly based on Delaware law, that address Earn Out disputes, which generally involve agreements for the sale of a company that allow for post-closing payments subject to various milestones or revenue targets being satisfied. Commonly, the buyer of the company is required to use a … Continue Reading
The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued an epic opinion, ending the lengthy saga of litigation involving efforts by some stockholders of Wal-Mart to pursue claims in connection with alleged improprieties relating to the Mexican subsidiary of Wal-Mart, in California State Teachers’ Retirement System v. Alvarez , Del. Super., No. 295, 2016 (Jan. 25, 2018). Multiple prior decisions in this … Continue Reading
This is the 13th year that I have created an annual list of the key corporate and commercial decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court and the Delaware Court of Chancery. I chose the following rulings from among the more than 100 corporate and commercial decisions that have been highlighted on this blog over the past … Continue Reading
The recent Delaware Supreme Court decision in Exelon Generation Acquisitions, LLC v. Deere & Company, No. 28,2017 (Del. Supr., Dec. 18, 2017), reversed the trial court ruling and rejected an earn-out claim based on the application of well-settled contract interpretation principles. The specific contract terms that were interpreted are fairly sui generis and not widely … Continue Reading
In a split decision, the Delaware Supreme Court applied the nuanced standards for demand futility in the context of Caremark claims against Duke Energy Company. In City of Birmingham Retirement and Relief System v. Good, No. 16-2017 (Del. Supr., Dec. 15, 2017), a clear majority of the Delaware Supreme Court, sitting en banc, found that … Continue Reading
In its first explicit clarification of Delaware law on stockholder ratification in many years, the Delaware Supreme Court provided a virtual restatement of the prerequisites for valid stockholder ratification of director actions. In doing so, Delaware’s High Court allowed a claim to proceed which challenged allegedly excessive director compensation. In the case styled: In re Investors … Continue Reading
