Any litigator who has been practicing long enough will confront a challenge with a pre-trial deadline. The Delaware Bar, at least traditionally, has had a custom of freely granting reasonable requests for extensions. But in summary proceedings, where a trial is often scheduled within 90 days of a complaint being filed, special nuances need to
section 220
Two Recent Chancery Decisions Provide Cautionary Tales in Section 220 Matters
Over the last 18 years that I have maintained this blog, I have published highlights on these pages, and elsewhere, of about 190 or so Delaware decisions involving stockholder demands under DGCL Section 220 for books and records, as well as the analogue in the LLC context. Nowadays, I only highlight those I find to be…
Limited Discovery in Section 220 Actions
Some readers who have followed these pages over the last 18 years may be weary of reading about DGCL Section 220 court decisions regarding the nuanced right, subject to various prerequisites, of a stockholder to demand certain books and records. But bear with me for this short post.
Discovery in a Section 220 case is…
Facebook investors can search one more Section 220 category for board’s $5 billion settlement rationale
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 Chancery Court recently allowed a Facebook Inc. shareholder plaintiff to inspect the directors’ electronic communications concerning how the company ended up paying $5 billion for a…
Delaware Supreme Clarifies Contract-Based Right to Corporate Records
A recent Delaware Supreme Court decision should be required reading for anyone interested in the latest iteration of Delaware law on the contract-based right to demand “books and records” in the alternative entity context. Delaware’s High Court ruled in Murfey v. WHC Ventures, LLC, Del. Supr., No 294, 2019 (July 13, 2020), that the…
Vice Chancellor Does Not Follow Prior Section 220 Decisions
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.…
Chancery orders 11th hour records for CBS Corp. investor’s probe of Viacom merger plan
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.
A recent Court of Chancery decision gave a CBS Corp. shareholder access to the broadcaster’s internal documents regarding an imminent merger with former corporate sibling Viacom Inc. after finding…
Confidentiality Agreement Not Always Required for Section 220 Demands
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…
Chancery Clarifies Section 220 Principles
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery opinion clarified a few key Section 220 prerequisites that are not otherwise explicit in the statute. The decision styled In re Facebook, Inc., Section 220 Litigation, Cons. C.A. No. 2018-0661-JRS (Del. Ch. rev. May 31, 2019), is notable for the following refinements of well-worn Section 220 requirements for…
Chancery Denies Section 220 Demand for Corporate Books and Records
A recent post-trial decision from the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a claim for corporate books and records based on DGCL § 220 after finding that there was no credible basis for wrongdoing to support the stated investigative purpose for the demand. Hoeller v. Tempur Sealy International, Inc., C.A. No. 2018-0336-JRS (Del. Ch.…