The Delaware Supreme Court recently provided guidance to corporate litigators regarding the nuances of DGCL Section 220, which most readers recognize as the statute that allows stockholders to demand certain corporate records if the prerequisites in the statute–and those imposed by countless court decisions–have been satisfied. In NVIDIA Corp. v. City of Westmoreland Police and
delaware corporate litigation
Pro Hac Vice Motions in Delaware: Cases and Commentary
I have highlighted many Delaware decisions addressing issues related to pro hac vice motions on these pages over the last 17 years or so, such as the standards for the admission of a non-Delaware lawyer pro hac vice to represent a party in pending Delaware litigation. Some of the decisions I have highlighted involve efforts…
The “Wedge”: Corporate Governance Term and Delaware Geography Reference
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery opinion decided a contested mootness fee request in connection with benefits that resulted from stockholder litigation. Instead of the thorough analysis concerning the appropriate amount of the fee award, what one reader thinks is more interesting about the decision, from a historical perspective, is the introduction which defines the…
Chancery Declines to Follow First-Filed Rule in Advancement Case
The current issue of the Delaware Business Court Insider includes an article on the titular topic by yours truly and my colleague Cheneise Wright. Courtesy of the good folks at the Delaware Business Court Insider, and with their permission, it appears below.
Chancery Declines to Follow First-Filed Rule in Advancement Case
By: Francis…
Supreme Court Clarifies Pre-Suit Demand Analysis
The Delaware Supreme Court has announced a revised standard for an important aspect of corporate litigation: the analysis of pre-suit demand futility for purposes of pursuing a derivative stockholder claim, in United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Fund. v. Zuckerberg, No. 404, 2020 (Del. Sept. 23, 2021).
Before…
Updated “Guidelines for Persons Litigating in the Court of Chancery”
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently published an updated version of Practice Guidelines. Weighing in at 38 single-spaced pages, it must be read by both Chancery litigators and those out-of-state counsel who litigate Chancery cases. The original Practice Guidelines highlighted on these pages, promulgated in 2012, were a mere 18-pages in length.
Courtesy of…
Chancery Clarifies Standard to Shift Fees for Improper Litigation Conduct
For the last 16 years, these pages have featured many highlights of court decisions addressing the right of a stockholder, or a member of an LLC, to demand a company’s “books and records“. Regular readers will recall much commentary about why the exercise of such rights are not for the fainthearted.
Why this decision…
Chancery Recognizes Reverse Veil-Piercing
Regular readers of these pages may recall multiple prior blog posts on both veil-piercing and reverse veil-piercing over the last 16 years. Serious students should review the book on the topic by the renowned corporate law scholar, and a friend of this blog, Professor Stephen Bainbridge. The Delaware Court of Chancery recently recognized reverse-veil-piercing in…
Buyout challenge can’t penetrate MFW business judgment shield, new Chancellor rules
This post was prepared by Frank Reynolds, who has been following Delaware corporate law, and writing about it for various legal publications, for over 30 years.
Delaware’s Court of Chancery recently threw out an attempt to undermine activist investor Carl Icahn’s claim of business judgment protection under the seminal MFW ruling for his buyout of…
Corporate Law and Woke CEOs
One of the country’s foremost corporate law scholars, Prof. Stephen Bainbridge, who readers of Delaware corporate law decisions and readers of these pages will recognize as having earned a place in the pantheon of corporate law luminaries, has commented on the titular topic, based on a recent Wall Street Journal article that discusses a backlash…