Highlights & Analysis of Key Decisions from Delaware's Supreme Court & Court of Chancery
ASB Allegiance Real Estate Fund v. Scion Breckenridge Managing Member LLC, C.A. No. 5483-VCL (Del. Ch. Sept. 16, 2013)
This Chancery decision, on remand from the Delaware Supreme Court, awarded attorneys’ fees based on the bad faith exception to the American Rule. The Supreme Court had remanded because the award of fees was originally based…
Cartanza v. Cartanza, C.A. No. 7618-VCP (Del. Ch. July 8, 2013).
Bottom line: This short letter ruling amplified the reasoning in the court’s prior decision in this case, highlighted here, in which the court awarded fees in connection with a motion to compel a deposition. The point of this short post is…
Sutherland v. Sutherland, C.A. No. 2399-VCN (Del. Ch. May 30, 2013).
Issue Addressed: Whether certain directors violated their fiduciary duties by benefiting from a system of charging for administrative expenses for personal matters that was more favorable to certain directors.
Short Answer: No.
Background: Many prior Delaware decisions in this long-running…
SIGA Technologies, Inc. v. PharmAthene, Inc., Del. Supr., No. 314, 2012 (May 24, 2013). This Delaware Supreme Court decision was the subject of a BloombergBusinessweek article on Sunday, May 26. The Court of Chancery’s opinion was highlighted on these pages at this link. Also, several other prior Chancery decisions in this case were also…
Whittington v. Dragon Group LLC, C.A. No. 2291-VCP (Del. Ch. May 1, 2013). Multiple prior decisions in this case have been highlighted on these pages and they provide more background details for the interested reader.
Issue Addressed: Whether a settlement agreement needs to be fully executed by all parties in order to be…
Cartanza v. Cartanza, C.A. No. 7618-VCP (Del. Ch. April 16, 2013).
Issue Addressed: Whether attorneys’ fees should be awarded due to defense counsel obstructing the efforts of opposing counsel to depose his client.
Short Answer: Yes.
Brief Overview
This letter ruling is a useful tool for the toolbox of any litigator. In essence,…
Edgewater Growth Capital Partners L.P. v. H.I.G. Capital, Inc., C.A. No. 3601-CS (Del. Ch. April 18, 2013). This ruling explains both an issue about attorneys’ fees and the revision of a previous Chancery opinion in this case highlighted on these pages here.
Issue Addressed: The standard that applies to award fees pursuant to…
In re: Paetec Holding Corp. Shareholders Litigation, C.A. No. 6761-VCG (Del. Ch. Mar. 19, 2013).
This Chancery opinion explains why attorneys’ fees were awarded in the amount of $500,000 based on a settlement of a challenge to a merger that resulted in additional disclosures prior to the deal closing. This is an excellent overview…
Edgewater Growth Capital Partners LP v. HIG Capital, Inc., C.A. 3601-CS (Del. Ch., Feb. 28, 2013).
This 70-page decision provides useful and extensive analysis of the duties of directors of an insolvent corporation and related claims against a private equity shareholder who enforced its foreclosure rights. The court dismissed the claims and found that the…
Forsythe v. ESC Fund Management Co. (U.S.), Inc., C.A. 1091-VCL (Del. Ch. Feb. 6, 2013).
Issue addressed: Whether the court would allow objectors to the settlement of a derivative suit to guarantee the amount of the settlement and “take a chance” at pursuing a higher recovery at trial or in a later, new…