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Shareholder Litigation Section 220 Request Shareholders

Morris James LLP

Chancery Determines Certain Suits and Investigations Against Amazon Were Insufficient to Meet Credible Basis Standard to Inspect...

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Wong Leung Revocable Tr. v. Amazon.com Inc., C.A. No. 2023-1251-BWD (Del. Ch. May 1, 2024) - In order to inspect books and records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, a stockholder-plaintiff must...more

Hogan Lovells

2024 Securities, Shareholder, and M&A Litigation Outlook

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2023 was a busy year, with both the Delaware courts and others, including the U.S. Supreme Court, weighing in on shareholder and M&A litigation issues. The Delaware Court of Chancery issued several notable decisions on issues...more

Mayer Brown

A Matter Of Propriety: Delaware Courts Reject Books-and-Records Demand Driven by Ulterior Motive

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Section 220 demands are a commonly used tool for stockholders to gain access to a company’s books and records. Although this provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law vests stockholders with a right of access thereto,...more

Hogan Lovells

Pietrasik v. Kraus Hamdani Aerospace: Despite Plaintiff’s “Rancor,” Delaware Court Grants 220 Demand

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After a de novo review of the record following a Magistrate in Chancery’s final report, Vice Chancellor Fioravanti of the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to accept the Magistrate’s recommendation to deny a...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Largely Denies Books-and-Records Inspection Exploring Dividend Potential

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Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, LTD., v. Brighthouse Financial Inc., C.A. No. 2022-1067-LWW (Del. Ch. Nov. 20, 2023) - Valuation is a well-established proper purpose to inspect corporate books and records. While each...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Limits Section 220 Books-and-Records Production to Formal Board Materials

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In re Zendesk, Inc. Section 220 Litigation, C.A. No. 2023-0454-BWD (Del. Ch. Aug. 25, 2023) - The background of this books-and-records decision involved a failed acquisition, a strategic review, a proxy contest, and a...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Insights: The Delaware Edition - December 2023

In this issue, we discuss recent Delaware court developments regarding officer liability, who can recover “lost-premium” damages, and trends in books and records actions, among other topics....more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Books and Records Demands 2023 Recap: Courts Continue To Develop the Law Regarding the Scope of Inspection

As discussed in prior articles, stockholder plaintiffs have increasingly sought to obtain companies’ books and records under 8 Del. C. § 220 (Section 220) and the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act’s analogous provision,...more

Hogan Lovells

Seidman v. Blue Foundry: eregious defense against books and record request prompts fee shifting

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In Lawrence B. Seidman v. Blue Foundry Bancorp, the Delaware Court of Chancery awarded US$223,651.60 in attorneys’ fees and expenses to a plaintiff stockholder because of the defendant’s “glaringly egregious litigation...more

Morris James LLP

Supreme Court Affirms Court of Chancery’s Decision Directing “Long Dark” Company to Produce Books and Records to a Stockholder...

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Hauppauge Digital, Inc. v. Rivest, C.A. No. 2019-0848 (Del. July 10, 2023). Under Delaware law, once a stockholder has established a proper purpose to inspect a corporation's books and records, the Court of Chancery has...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Denies Books and Records Request Related to Disney’s Opposition to Florida Legislation Prohibiting LGBTQ+ Topics in...

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Simeone v. The Walt Disney Company, C.A. No. 2022-1120-LWW (Del. Ch. June 27, 2023) - The Walt Disney Company opposed Florida legislation that limits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Rules That Delisted and Long-Dark Corporation Failed To Show Harm Warranting a Confidentiality Order for Basic Financial...

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Rivest v. Hauppauge Digital, Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0848-PWG (Del. Ch. Sept. 1, 2022) - Plaintiff stockholder sought to inspect the books and records of a defendant company, requesting a narrow universe of annual and...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

The Corporate Guide: Stockholders Demanding Corporate Records? What You Should Know

What is a books and records demand? Under Delaware General Corporation Law Section 220, stockholders have the right to inspect corporate records. Strict compliance with the statute is mandatory....more

Hogan Lovells

Delaware Chancery Court finds Boeing Board oversight allegations satisfy Caremark standards

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In In re The Boeing Company, the Delaware Court of Chancery held that Boeing stockholders that sued the company over losses relating to safety problems with Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane had adequately pleaded that a majority of...more

Snell & Wilmer

How Much Information Must a Shareholder Provide to a Corporation to Inspect Books and Records Under Section 220?

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The Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed a decision by the Court of Chancery that ordered a corporation to produce certain books and records to a shareholder, and which granted leave to the shareholder to take a...more

Morris James LLP

Mindbody Deal Case Provides Conflict Takeaways For Boards

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The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in In re: Mindbody Inc. Stockholders Litigation is important reading for lawyers whose practices include evaluating, addressing and — when necessary — litigating potential...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Rebukes Party for “Distracting” and “Detrimental” Rule 11 Arguments

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POSCO Energy Co., Ltd. v. FuelCell Energy, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0713-MTZ (Del. Ch. Oct. 22, 2020) - Under Court of Chancery Rule 15, a Delaware plaintiff may request leave from the Court to amend or supplement a complaint....more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Addresses Burdens for Valuation-Related Books-and-Records Inspections, While Finding Defendant’s Asserted Lack of Records...

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Woods v. Sahara Enterprises, Inc., C.A. No. 2020-0153-JTL (Del. Ch. July 22, 2020) - This decision concerning statutory inspection rights under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law clarifies the requirements...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Applies the Internal Affairs Doctrine to Deny Stockholder Inspection Rights Under a Foreign State’s Law

In Juul Labs, Inc. v. Grove, 2020 Del. Ch. LEXIS 264 (Del. Ch. Aug. 13, 2020) (Laster, V.C.), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the “internal affairs doctrine” bars a stockholder of a Delaware corporation headquartered...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Addresses Pleading ‘With Particularity’ Under Rule 23.1

Rule 23.1 of the Delaware Court of Chancery Rules requires a plaintiff asserting a shareholder derivative action to plead “with particularity the efforts, if any, made by the plaintiff to obtain the action the plaintiff...more

Morris James LLP

In a Books and Records Action, Court Critiques Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, and Declines to Order Inspection of Documents Not...

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Paraflon Investments, Ltd. v. Linkable Networks, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0611-JRS (Del. Ch. Apr. 3, 2020). Sometimes it bears repeating that Section 220 actions are intended to be summary proceedings to evaluate a...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Q&A: Directors’ Delaware Law Questions During the Pandemic

Skadden partner Edward Micheletti, who heads the litigation practice of the firm’s Wilmington office, answers common Delaware law questions facing boards of directors during the COVID-19 crisis....more

Proskauer - Minding Your Business

Delaware Chancery Holds Early Committee Appointment Necessary to Cleanse Conflict from Corporate Transactions

In Salladay v. Lev, the Delaware Chancery Court elaborated on how early a corporate board must take protective measures to shield a conflicted transaction from entire fairness review. Salladay involved a motion to dismiss a...more

Locke Lord LLP

Delaware Expands Stockholder Rights to Demand Information and Facilitates Caremark Claims

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Delaware law usually protects directors in making good faith business decisions. However, the recent Delaware Court of Chancery AmerisourceBergen decision signals a two-part trend of (i) increased stockholder access to...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Implications for Section 220 ‘Books and Records’ Demands Following High River Limited Partnership

In High River Ltd. P’ship v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., No. CV 2019-0403-JRS, 2019 WL 6040285 (Del. Ch. Nov. 14, 2019), the Court of Chancery of the state of Delaware recently refused to hold that Section 220 books and...more

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