The Delaware Supreme Court recently issued a highly anticipated decision in Salzberg v. Sciabacucchi, No. 346-2019 (Del. Mar. 18, 2020). Many law professors and other commentators have written much learned commentary and published extensive scholarly analysis of the issues raised in the Court of Chancery’s decision, and have opined on what the Supreme Court was … Continue Reading
There is a precious paucity of Delaware decisions that thoroughly and directly address the potential equitable dissolution of an LLC, as compared to a statutory dissolution of an LLC based on the LLC Act, but that situation has been ameliorated by the recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision in SolarReserve CSP Holdings LLC v. Tonopah … Continue Reading
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. In a milestone opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s corporation law permits Delaware chartered companies to designate the federal courts for all shareholder securities suits … Continue Reading
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. The Delaware Supreme Court recently advised a federal appeals court that the state’s partnership law bars a limited liability partnership formed by three Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC employees from continuing … Continue Reading
Yesterday, on the same date as the announcement that the Governor of Delaware required the closure of “non-essential businesses” (that apparently is defined not to include law firms), the Delaware Supreme Court ordered, in essence, all Delaware Courts closed to the public until April 15 (e.g., for in-person access) due to the pandemic that has … Continue Reading
By Delaware Supreme Court Order, effective March 16, 2020, Delaware’s high court declared a judicial emergency, following the Governor of Delaware declaring on Friday, March 13, a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, and also on the same day that President Trump proclaimed a National Emergency. The foregoing hyperlink provides the actual Court Order. One … Continue Reading
According to the World Health Organization this afternoon, and a televised announcement from the President of the United States this evening, a novel coronavirus (Covid-19) has now been declared to be a worldwide pandemic. Two other examples of how serious this situation is: The President announced a travel ban from most of Europe to the U.S. … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery opinion discussed the nuances of an unusual personal and business relationship, akin to a “familial intimacy”, that formed the basis for the court to conclude that a fiduciary relationship could be proven at trial. See Bamford v. Penfold, L.P., C.A. No. 2019-0005-JTL (Del. Ch. Feb. 28, 2020). Short Overview: … Continue Reading
Other than the relatively sparse wording of Rule 28 of the Delaware Supreme Court on the topic, there is a relative paucity of commentary or case law to provide practical, detailed guidance on the requirements for obtaining approval to file an amicus curiae brief before the Delaware Supreme Court, and related instructions for the permissible … Continue Reading
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. The Delaware Court of Chancery recently ruled that AmTrust, Inc.’s controlling shareholders’ go-private buyout of the insurer must be reviewed under the harsh light of the entire fairness standard … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision is notable for its explanation of the basic law of damages for contract and fraud claims, as well as cautioning that a damage expert’s estimate of damages needs to correspond to each of the counts in the complaint. In Great Hill Equity Partners IV, LP, v. SIG Growth … Continue Reading
The recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision in Salladay v. Lev, No. 2019-0048-SG (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2020), addressed the standards the Court may apply to review the conduct of directors in a contested transaction, and determined that the entire fairness standard applied, based on the facts of this case, resulting in a denial of … Continue Reading
In a departure from the manner in which most cases have been highlighted on these pages, this post includes a collection of short blurbs about recent Delaware corporate and commercial decisions, identifying the key issues addressed, with a link to the whole opinion. This experimental approach to highlighting recent decisions was prompted by a combination … Continue Reading
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. The Delaware Court of Chancery recently found that a trial is needed to decide whether, despite his minority share of Tesla Motors Inc., CEO Elon Musk could exert a controller’s … Continue Reading
The Court of Chancery recently denied a request for attorneys’ fees that were sought pursuant to the corporate benefit doctrine despite a successful suit under Section 211 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) to compel a company to hold an annual meeting. In Martin v. Harbor Diversified, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0762-SG (Del. Ch. Feb. … Continue Reading
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. The Delaware Supreme Court recently ruled that the Court of Chancery wrongly decided to move a Swiss holding company’s dispute over Allomet Corp.’s stock from Delaware to Austria, even … Continue Reading
A recent Delaware decision is notable for two reasons. First, it provides an example of a relatively rare defamation finding in a decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery. In Laser Tone Business Systems, LLC v. Delaware Micro-Computer LLC, C.A. No. 2017-0439-TMR (Del. Ch. Jan. 17, 2020), the court granted damages in the amount of … Continue Reading
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 high court has reversed the dismissal of charges that Jive Communications Inc. fraudulently duped KnighTek LLC’s owner into accepting a million-dollar discount in its payment for his telecom … Continue Reading
A recent decision of the Delaware Court of Chancery provides a useful example of why the terms of a successful mediation need to be sufficiently memorialized in writing, immediately, so that the settlement can be enforced in the event that a formal and comprehensive settlement agreement is not completed later. In Starkman v. O’Rourke, No. … Continue Reading
A recently published Delaware Court of Chancery decision must be read by anyone who seeks to understand the latest iteration of Delaware law involving Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law in connection with demands by stockholders for corporate books and records. Lebanon County Employees’ Retirement Fund v. AmerisourceBergen Corporation, No. 2019-0527-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan. … Continue Reading
In my recent ethics column for The Bencher, the publication of the American Inn of Courts (that I have been writing for over 20 years), I discuss the duty of candor to the court that lawyers have, and how that interfaces with the duty of confidentiality owed to clients.… Continue Reading
A recent decision of the Delaware Superior Court featured an unusual ruling in Delaware: A motion to disqualify counsel was granted based on a conflict of interest under Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9, relating to prior representation of a client. Why the Decision is Notable: Although the facts in the 21-page decision styled Sun Life … Continue Reading
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. The Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed the dismissal of a shareholder’s suit against Uber Technologies Inc.’s directors who approved their CEO’s “flawed” purchase of a self-driving car developer run … Continue Reading
The following article is reprinted with permission from the Jan. 15, 2020 edition of “The Delaware Business Court Insider”, (c) 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. By: Francis G.X. Pileggi and Chauna A. Abner This is the 15th year that Francis Pileggi and various co-authors have created an annual list of important corporate … Continue Reading
