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Corporate Governance Corporate Officers Breach of Duty

Allen Matkins

Is Your Directors And Officers Liability Coverage Illusory?

Allen Matkins on

Many corporations pay significant amounts for directors and officers liability policies.  Commonly referred to as D&O policies, these policies usually involve three sides.  Directors and officers are likely to have the most...more

Allen Matkins

Nevada Supreme Court Rejects The "Uncontrollable Child" Theory Of Parent-Subsidiary Relationships

Allen Matkins on

Nevada famously limits directors and officers from personal liability.  However, it would be an overstatement to say that Nevada is a "liability free" jurisdiction.  For example, the Nevada Supreme Court recently held that...more

Conyers

Directors in the Firing Line

Conyers on

While those running companies may be aware of the numerous management and accounting breaches that can give rise to civil liability, there is generally less recognition of the possibility that breaches can also give rise to...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Court of Chancery Finds Officer Liable for Competing With Corporation and Misappropriating Trade Secrets

On September 1, 2023, Vice Chancellor Paul A. Fioravanti, Jr. of the Court of Chancery delivered a decision finding that the president of a plaintiff company and a second business the president had formed and served...more

Proskauer - Corporate Defense and Disputes

Delaware Chancery Court Holds that High Standard for Oversight Liability Applies to Corporate Officers

The Delaware Court of Chancery recently held that claims for breach of the fiduciary duty of oversight are not easier to plead against corporate officers than against corporate directors. The decision in Segway Inc. v. Cai...more

JAMS

Mediating Complex Corporate Disputes Involving Officers and Directors

JAMS on

Claims against corporate officers and directors most commonly are derivative claims brought on behalf of a corporation or LLC in which the company is a nominal plaintiff. These claims allege that the defendants have breached...more

Allen Matkins

Do Corporate Boards Necessarily Breach Their Fiduciary Duties When They Approve Illegal Conduct?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent blog post on the Business Law Prof Blog, Tulane Law professor Ann M. Lipton opined...more

Allen Matkins

Can One Shareholder Sue Another Shareholder For Breach Of Contract?

Allen Matkins on

One popular theory of the corporation is that it is a nexus of contracts.  As Frank Easterbrook and Daniel Fischel pithily pronounced "Corporations are enduring (relational) contracts."  F. Easterbrook and D. Fischel, The...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - June 2023

In a case of first impression, the Court of Chancery held recently that officers, like directors, owe their companies a duty of oversight, although the scope of that will vary with their responsibilities. Two other Chancery...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Delaware Court Extends a Director's Duty of Oversight to Officers—What Could This Mean for Canadian Directors and Officers?

Bennett Jones LLP on

In the United States, corporate directors owe, as a subset of their duty of loyalty, a duty to monitor and oversee the operations of the company, referred to as the "duty of oversight" in this blog. This duty is known as the...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Corporate Director Duty to at Least “Try” to Carry Out Oversight Functions May Soon Extend to Company Officers

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Just last year, in assessing the extent to which a director has a duty to oversee a corporation’s business affairs, the Business Court noted the “limited guidance” afforded by state statutes and case law. In Lee v. McDowell,...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Delaware Court Extends Fiduciary Duty of Oversight to Corporate Officers

For companies incorporated in Delaware (and beyond), it may be time to reexamine a number of issues impacting senior leadership from a variety of perspectives, including corporate governance, indemnification provisions,...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Declines To Dismiss Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Nondirector Officer, Holding That Officers...

A&O Shearman on

On January 25, 2023, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a derivative suit brought by stockholders asserting breach of fiduciary duty claims against a former officer...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Delaware Chancery Court Extends Oversight Duties to Non-Director Corporate Officers

Latham & Watkins LLP on

Non-director officers may face liability for failing to properly oversee the corporation’s affairs and ignoring “red flags” within their “areas of responsibility.” Key Points: ..The McDonald’s Corporation’s response...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Court of Chancery Concludes That Duty of Oversight Applies to Officers

In an important decision addressing an issue of first impression, the Delaware Court of Chancery determined that corporate officers owe a fiduciary duty of oversight under Delaware law. The case, In re McDonald’s Corporation...more

A&O Shearman

New York Appellate Court Dismisses Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claims Under Foreign Law, Clarifying That The Internal Affairs...

A&O Shearman on

On October 13, 2022, a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, First Department, unanimously reversed a trial court decision and dismissed a breach of fiduciary duty action brought by...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Denies Motion To Dismiss Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim Against Director Who Abstained From Merger Vote

A&O Shearman on

On May 25, 2022, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery denied a motion to dismiss a stockholder derivative claim against a director of Fat Brands Inc. (the “Corporation”) for alleged breach of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Dismisses Derivative Claims Challenging A Convertible Debt Issuance At The Onset Of The COVID-19...

A&O Shearman on

On November 23, 2021, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III of the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed stockholder derivative claims for breach of fiduciary duty against the directors of Wayfair, Inc. (the “Company”). ...more

Allen Matkins

"Refusal To Acquiesce" To Director's Removal Results In Multimillion Dollar Damage Award

Allen Matkins on

A recent holding by the Second District Court of Appeal is a cautionary tale for directors who fail to acquiesce to a director's removal from the board.  Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs v. Macias, 63 Cal. App. 5th...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Recent Trends in Officer Liability

More than a decade ago in the seminal case Gantler v. Stephens, the Delaware Supreme Court clarified that officers of Delaware corporations owe the same fiduciary duties of care and loyalty that directors owe to the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Nota Bene Episode 94: Mapping COVID-19’s Impact on American Bankruptcy and Restructuring with Edward Tillinghast

Multinational boards are facing a major dilemma in response to COVID and its impact on their business forecasting. Many companies are facing insolvency and are left to decide how to approach bankruptcy proceedings. We’re...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

A Toolkit for Directors & Officers of US Companies Amid COVID-19 What’s Market?

Goulston & Storrs PC on

The current COVID-19 crisis has rapidly re-shaped everyday life around the world, and our understanding of the impact this disruption to daily interactions and routines has had on business is constantly evolving....more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The Importance of Full Disclosure

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Directors and officers of corporations owe a duty of care and a duty of loyalty to both the corporation and its shareholders, although the duty of care for directors can be exculpated. A breach of these fiduciary duties can...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Corporate Law & Governance Update - August 2016

The Hershey Governance Settlement - On Friday, July 29, the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the Hershey Trust Company and the Milton Hershey School, entered into a written settlement resolving an investigation conducted...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - October 2015

We are pleased to share with you the inaugural issue of Insights: The Delaware Edition, a periodic publication addressing significant Delaware deal litigation and corporation law developments. In This Issue: - Q&A...more

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