National Industries Group (Holding) v. Carlyle Investment Management LLC, Del. Supr., No. 596, 2012 (May 29, 2013).
Issues Addressed: Enforceability of a forum selection clause, and the prerequisites to vacate a judgment under Court of Chancery Rule 60(b)(6).
Brief Background
This case involved a dispute between two sophisticated entities. One was based in Kuwait
Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C. v. National Industries Group (Holding), C.A. No. 5527-CS (Del. Ch. Oct. 11, 2012).
Issue Presented: Whether a default judgment should be opened when the defendant Kuwaiti company agreed to a forum selection clause in Delaware and willfully ignored multiple opportunities to participate in the lawsuit.
Short Answer: No.
In Crescent/Mach I Partners L.P. v. Dr. Pepper Bottling Co. of Texas, (Del. Supr., December 1, 2008), read opinion here, the Delaware Supreme Court (in a rare occurrence) reversed the Chancery Court on a procedurally unusual basis in an appraisal case that was previously highlighted on this blog here. (That summary also includes
In Steel Partners II, L.P. v. Point Blank Solutions, Inc., 2008 WL 3522431 (Aug. 12, 2008), the initial complaint was filed to force the holding of a shareholders meeting (which had not taken place since 2005), pursuant to DGCL Section 211. After a stipulation was entered into for a date to hold the meeting, the