Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 167: Listen and Learn -- Direct and Derivative Actions (Corporations)
Board Diversity Podcast
Securities Litigation and Disclosure Issues
Podcast: CFTC Issues LIBOR Transition Relief for Swaps
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
In a recent case, Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania (derivatively on behalf of Centene Corporation) v Brinkley (Centene), Delaware's Court of Chancery dismissed “Caremark duty claims”—named after the 1996 case...more
In the United States, corporate directors and, as confirmed by the Delaware Court in McDonald’s Corp. Stockholder Derivative Litigation (McDonald), corporate officers owe, as a subset of their duty of loyalty, a duty to...more
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
Effective August 1, 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) was amended to permit a Delaware corporation to include in its charter a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of...more
A claim for breach of the duty of oversight is known as a Caremark claim, after the landmark Delaware Court of Chancery decision in In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation (1996). Since then, Delaware courts...more
In a significant and far-reaching development in Delaware corporate law, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently held in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation, C.A. No. 2021-0324-JTL (Del. Ch. Jan....more
The Delaware Court of Chancery has recently held in In re McDonald’s Corporation Stockholder Derivative Litigation that shareholders can pursue a derivative claim for breach of the fiduciary duty of oversight against...more
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
Human Resources Executives and Chief Compliance Officers now face the potential for increased personal liability following a first-of-its-kind decision from a Delaware court, which established the fiduciary duty of oversight...more
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
I must confess that I confess that I am nonplused by a recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge James A. Teilborg in SinglePoint Direct Solar LLC v. Curiel, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19880. The case involved, among other...more
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
Northern District of California Dismisses Shareholder Derivative Suit Concerning Lack of Diversity; Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Stockholder Suit Against Medical Device Company for Failure to Plead Demand Futility;...more
Former Theranos CEO Denied Attorney-Client Privilege Over Communications with Company Attorneys; District of Massachusetts Allows Putative Securities Class Action to Proceed Against OvaScience Investors; Delaware Chancery...more
In Roels v. Valkenaar, a shareholder filed a shareholder derivative suit against former and current officers and directors of the company based on multiple claims of breach of fiduciary duty. No. 03-19-00502-CV, 2020 Tex....more
In Liberty Bankers Life Ins. Co. v. Lenhard, a company sued its former chief executive officer and shareholder for breaching fiduciary duties and fraudulent statements regarding an agreement to transfer his stock in the...more
Alleged workplace harassment is not a new phenomenon, but in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct in the corporate context, plaintiffs increasingly are targeting an expanded group of defendants, including public...more
In the past few years there has been an uptick in stockholder derivative litigation related to equity compensation granted to named executive officers that exceed the plan share limits. The claims against the companies...more
On November 5, Telestrata, LLC brought a derivative shareholder action and direct action against NetTALK.com, Inc., a publicly traded telecommunication company, and NetTALK’s directors and officers, alleging that the...more
Recent rulings by judges in Delaware and other states have given impetus to the adoption of exclusive forum bylaws. To the casual observer, the idea might seem entirely novel. But as Koheleth (the Gatherer) wrote “What has...more