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
Last year, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster famously held that officers could be subject to liability under the Caremark doctrine. In re McDonald’s Corp., 289 A.3d 343 (Del. Ch. Jan. 26, 2023). The Caremark doctrine...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
Sections 706 (d) and 716 (c) of the Business Corporation Law (the “BCL”) both contain a “for cause” standard for judicial removal of corporate directors and officers. Complaints with claims for judicial corporate director and...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
Traditionally deployed to protect a corporation from its board’s imprudent investment or financial decision-making, in recent years shareholders have taken to bringing derivative actions on a corporation’s behalf for its...more
The decision articulates the standard for plaintiffs asserting derivative claims based on an alleged failure of oversight by directors and officers of California companies. Nearly three decades ago in the seminal case In...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
The opioid crisis has garnered nationwide attention for decades and has resulted in thousands of lawsuits, subjecting pharmaceutical distributors to billions of dollars in damages. AmerisourceBergen (“Amerisource”) — one of...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
In former Chancellor Allen’s hallmark decision in In re Caremark International, Inc. Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that directors of a corporation owe stockholders the fiduciary duty of oversight....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
According to a recent decision handed down by the Delaware courts, corporate officers must now contend with a new avenue of liability: the duty of oversight. Previously, only a company’s board could face personal liability...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
As SPAC litigation continues to proliferate, it is more important than ever that officers and directors of companies undertaking a de-SPAC transaction be mindful of litigation risks and adopt strategies for managing them....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
In a derivative action In re Boeing Company Derivative Litigation, Boeing’s stockholders obtained approval from the Delaware Court of Chancery for a landmark US$237.5 million settlement of derivative claims targeting the...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
Delaware amended its Corporation Law (Section 145(g)) to expressly permit the use of captive insurance to protect directors and officers, including from claims for which indemnification is prohibited, joining many other key...more
As predicted in last year’s Looking Ahead, D&O insurance rates continued to rise in 2021. However, there are early signs that the market is in transition and that some relief may be on the way. As documented in this year’s...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
In Novedea Sys. v. Colaberry, Inc., co-founders of a business discussed terms of a buy-out, but ended up in litigation. No. 6:20-cv-00180-JDK, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152372 (E. D. Tex. August 13, 2021). ...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