News & Analysis as of

Shareholders Fiduciary Duty

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

I’ll Cry if I Want To – But Taking Steps to Avoid Tears Is a Better Strategy for Private Company Business Partners

In recent years, the headlines have tracked the news of high-profile breakups among business partners in private companies. These business partner fallouts include: - 2023: Sam Altman was ousted as Open AI CEO (for...more

White & Case LLP

2024 Half-year in review – M&A legal and market developments

White & Case LLP on

We set out below a number of interesting English court decisions and market developments which have taken place and their impact on M&A transactions. This review looks at these developments and gives practical guidance on...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Challenges to Sale of Company by Private Equity Controller, Assesses Transaction Under Business...

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On January 7, 2025, Vice Chancellor Glasscock issued a 68-page post-trial decision in Manti Holdings, LLC v. The Carlyle Group Inc., in which he rejected plaintiffs’ claims of breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Can a Shareholder Be Oppressed After Ceding Control? Oppression, Reasonable Expectations, and Contractual Formalism

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

One of the first business divorce cases that I participated in as a young litigator was a lengthy arbitration over whether a minority shareholder was oppressed under BCL 1104-a.  With those fond memories, evolution of the...more

Perkins Coie

BlackRock’s US Proxy Voting Guidelines Updates

Perkins Coie on

BlackRock recently published its updated “Proxy Voting Guidelines for Benchmark Policies - U.S. Securities” for the 2025 proxy season, along with its 2025 “Global Principles for Benchmark Policies” and “Engagement Priorities...more

Allen Matkins

Questioning Delaware's Control Over Controlling Stockholders

Allen Matkins on

Delaware cases dealing with transactions involving controlling stockholders are often concerned with the standard of review to be applied.  See, e.g., Tornetta v. Musk, 250 A.3d 793 (2019).  Some cases engender a different...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Decision Provides Instructive Guidance on Referencing Private Agreements in Corporate Charters and Bylaws

Morris James LLP on

Seavitt v. N-able, Inc., C.A. No. 2023-0326-JTL (Del. Ch. July 25, 2024) - Earlier this year, the Court of Chancery in West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis (“Moelis”) invalidated a stockholders’ agreement...more

Allen Matkins

FDIC Plans To Sue Silicon Valley Bank And Holding Company Directors And Managers

Allen Matkins on

Last week Kevin M. LaCroix reported that the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had voted unanimously to approve the staff’s request for authorization to file a suit against six former officers...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Finds that Would-Be Caremark Plaintiffs Failed to Plead Demand Futility

Morris James LLP on

Bricklayers Pension Fund of W. Pa. v. Brinkley, C.A. No. 2022-1118-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 12, 2024) - In derivative cases where a stockholder-plaintiff has not made a pre-suit demand on the board of directors, demand futility...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds That Demand Was Not Wrongfully Refused When Considered by Working Group

Morris James LLP on

In re Kraft Heinz Demand Refused Derivative Stockholder Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2022-0398-LWW (Del. Ch. July 19, 2024) - By making a demand, a stockholder-plaintiff tacitly concedes that the board can impartially consider...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Breach of Fiduciary Duty Judgment Against CEO but Reverses Bidder’s Aiding and Abetting Liability

In a recent decision by the Delaware Supreme Court sitting en banc in In re Mindbody, Inc., Stockholder Litigation, the court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s determination that Mindbody’s CEO had breached his duties of...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery Holds Stockholder Vote Following Post-Trial Decision Cannot Retroactively Ratify A Transaction That...

A&O Shearman on

As we previously reported, in January 2024, the Court held in a stockholder derivative suit against the CEO and directors of a sustainable energy and electric vehicle company (the “Company”) that a record-setting $55.8...more

Allen Matkins

Court Rules That When Profits Are Hypothetical There Can Be No Civil Theft

Allen Matkins on

Under California Penal Code Section 496(a) a person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Holds Non-Voting Stock Must be Included on Stock Ledger

Morris James LLP on

Mitchell Partners, L.P. v. AMFI Corp., C.A. Nos. 2020-0985-KSJM, 2020-0986-KSJM (Del. Ch. July 3, 2024) - In this case, in which the Chancellor reviewed a decision by a special master, the Court examined whether...more

Hogan Lovells

Q2 2024 Quarterly Corporate / M&A decisions updates

Hogan Lovells on

Below is our Corporate / M&A decisions update covering decisions in the second quarter of 2024. Decisions from the Delaware Court of Chancery this quarter included further development of the jurisprudence around the validity...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

OLNS#12 – Advisory Boards in German Start-ups

In substantially all of the major world markets, we have dedicated technology lawyers who support young German technology companies on their growth trajectory through all stages. As one of the top tech law firms in the world,...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

OLNS#12 - Beiräte in deutschen Start-ups

Mit unseren auf Technologietransaktionen spezialisierten Teams in allen wichtigen globalen Märkten begleiten wir zahlreiche deutsche Technologieunternehmen auf ihrem Wachstumspfad. Als eine der führenden Tech-Kanzleien...more

A&O Shearman

Delaware Court Of Chancery “Barely” Sustains Claims Challenging Representations About Value Of SPAC Shares

A&O Shearman on

On October 18, 2024, Vice Chancellor Glasscock of the Delaware Court of Chancery declined to dismiss a putative class action brought by stockholders of special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) Mountain Crest Acquisition...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Navigating ESOP Transactions: Essential Steps to Minimize DOL Scrutiny from the Start

Bricker Graydon LLP on

In a recent court ruling, the US Department of Labor (DOL) prevailed against corporate directors and shareholders for claims related to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) transaction. ...more

Allen Matkins

When Dismissing A Case Violates Due Process

Allen Matkins on

When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation.  Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more

Morris James LLP

Court of Chancery Rejects ‘Caremark’ Liability for Imperfect Compliance With Legal Obligations

Morris James LLP on

Delaware corporations are not permitted to pursue profits by violating the law. Under Caremark and its progeny, directors’ fiduciary duties include the good faith obligation to oversee and monitor the corporation’s compliance...more

Allen Matkins

Just What Are The Duties Of A Controlling Shareholder And How Should Claims Of Breach Be Brought?

Allen Matkins on

In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders.  Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more

Allen Matkins

Court Finds Usurpation Of LLC Opportunity To Be Derivative

Allen Matkins on

My last few posts have been devoted to the Court of Appeal's opinion in Tuli v. Specialty Surgical Center of Thousand Oaks, LLC, 2024 WL 4499271 (Oct. 16, 2024).  The case relates to the plaintiff's "decade-long litigation...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Corporate Dissolution Petition Hits Back Burner in Favor of Earlier Filed Claims for Money Damages

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The shareholder oppression claim under BCL 1104-a has a unique relationship with claims for money damages. A minority shareholder petitioning for dissolution under BCL 1104-a must establish that the majority shareholders...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

Close, But No Books, Records, Or Cigar: The Role of Status And Location When Seeking Books And Records In PA.

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

Some attorneys believe that a shareholder seeking books and records from the corporate entity they own shares of is an effective use of time and resources. I’m not one of them....more

680 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 28

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide