News & Analysis as of

Executive Compensation Breach of Duty Business Judgment Rule

BCLP

Tesla’s Super-charged Equity Award to Elon Musk Unplugged by Delaware Court Cautionary Tale for Boards and Executives

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The Delaware Chancery Court invalidated a substantial equity award to Elon Musk – the largest in history. It applied the entire fairness test instead of the more deferential business judgment rule, finding that Musk...more

Goodwin

Delaware Court of Chancery Rescinds Elon Musk’s $55.8 Billion Compensation Package in Cautionary Tale About Director Independence...

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On January 30, 2024, the Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery struck down the $55.8 billion compensation plan that Tesla, Inc.’s board of directors had granted to Tesla’s well-known CEO, Elon Musk, finding that the...more

Jones Day

Chancery Court Requires Entire Fairness Review of Tesla CEO Compensation

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The Background: A shareholder challenged an extraordinary and extremely lucrative incentive-based compensation package awarded by Tesla to its chair, CEO, and controlling shareholder, claiming a breach of fiduciary duties. ...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Recent Director and Executive Compensation Lawsuits Heighten Need for Robust Corporate Governance

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Over the past two years, there has been an uptick in the number of lawsuits challenging director and executive compensation. Cases such asIn Re: Investors Bancorp, Stein v. Blankfein, Hertz v. Frissora and, most recently,...more

Dechert LLP

Electricity in the Air: Court Decides that Stockholder Ratification Not Enough to Insulate Tesla CEO’s $55.8 Billion Compensation...

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The Delaware Chancery Court rejected an attempt by Tesla’s Board of Directors to dismiss a challenge to CEO Elon Musk’s “extraordinary” 2018 compensation package. Because Musk is also Tesla’s controlling stockholder, the...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Delaware Court Provides Further Guidance on Stockholder Challenges to Director Compensation

On May 31, 2019, Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a decision refusing to dismiss a stockholder's fiduciary duty claims challenging the compensation of Goldman Sachs' board of directors.1...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Business Judgment Rule Applies to a Board’s Response to Take “All Necessary Actions”

What legal standard applies to assess a corporate board’s refusal to pursue litigation in response to a shareholder’s demand to take “all necessary actions” to correct alleged director misconduct?...more

Cooley LLP

Alert: Delaware Supreme Court Changes Conversation on Director Compensation

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In recent years, there has been an increase in Delaware breach of fiduciary duty claims (including stockholder demands and actual cases) asserted against public company boards alleging that the directors engaged in...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Impact of Compensation-Related Litigation on Public Companies

Compensation-related litigation and threats of litigation continued to significantly impact public companies in 2017. These companies should be mindful of issues that were raised in recent litigation: proxy disclosure,...more

Troutman Pepper

Hot Topic for 2018 Proxy Season: Director Compensation in Wake of New Delaware Supreme Court Ruling

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In an important recent opinion, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation that certain director compensation decisions would be reviewed under the “entire fairness” standard...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Boards Beware: Delaware Supreme Court Limits Application of Deferential Standard for Reviewing Director Equity Awards

On December 13, 2017, the Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion, In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Case No. 169, holding that, except under limited circumstances, the court will not apply the...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Another Reminder that Director Limits set forth in Equity Plans Allow Director Compensation to be Reviewed under the more Lenient...

Earlier this month, in In re Investors Bancorp, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery reiterated its view that placing a meaningful limit on director equity awards to be granted under a stockholder...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

"Key Takeaways: Corporate Governance Series — Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee...

On February 28, 2017, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices.” The Skadden panelists were labor and employment law partner David Schwartz,...more

McCarter & English, LLP

A Key Reminder to Directors of Delaware Corporations When Granting Equity Awards under an Equity Incentive Plan

Corporate directors routinely make decisions regarding their own compensation. If challenged by stockholders, such decisions are generally reviewed by Delaware courts under the onerous "entire fairness" standard, which...more

Butler Snow LLP

Less Is More? Not when it comes to director compensation plans and effective shareholder ratification

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Companies cannot merely rely upon shareholder approval to obtain protection under the business judgment rule. While the courts in Delaware do frequently apply the standard of waste to claims of breach of fiduciary duty and...more

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