Delaware Business Litigation Report

Is Delaware Poised to Dismiss Premature Litigation?

It is striking that a vast majority of deals involving a controlling stockholder lead to litigation filed within days, if not hours, of the public announcement of the transaction. In fact, sometimes litigation is filed even before an actual transaction is announced, simply upon notice that a transaction may be proposed soon. It strains credulity to believe that today so many deals involving controlling stockholders are actionable for breach of fiduciary duty or failure to properly disclose the background to the deal.

Of course, the reality is that these early filings seldom involve a meaningful analysis of the merits. Instead, these early filings represent a race to the courthouse by plaintiffs law firms. The race begins when a law firm first posts on its website or on a company blog set up by day traders that the firm is "investigating" a proposed deal with a controlling stockholder. Soon, the firm and other plaintiffs firms find stockholders who are willing to be their plaintiffs, and the suits follow immediately. Once the company's public filings are made, the various complaints may be amended to attack the filings as inadequate or misleading. Too often, negotiations with the plaintiffs' lawyers immediately follow. A settlement is reached with some modest benefit conferred on the stockholder class and with attorney fees included. This form of "pay-off" is cheaper than litigating all the suits and gains a class-wide release of stockholder claims that adds certainty to the final deal terms. More ›

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Court Of Chancery Explains Conspiracy Jurisdiction

Hospitalists of Delaware, LLC. v. Lutz, C.A. 6221-VCP (August 28, 2012)

This is an important decision because it explains the theory of jurisdiction over alleged conspirators. While that basis for jurisdiction has been around since the Istituto Bancario decision, it is still hard to understand.  The guidance this decision provides to that law and the conspiracy theory in general is very helpful.

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Supreme Court Upholds Southern Peru Case

Americas Mining Corporation v. Theriault, No.  29, 2012 (August 27, 2012) The Delaware Supreme Court has upheld the largest attorney fee award in Delaware history.  In doing so, the Court has squarely upheld the use of percentages to award fees out of the common fund created by the litigation and disclaimed the so-called "lodestar" approach. The decision is also noteworthy for its upholding of the Court of Chancery's damages award, also probably the largest in Delaware history. On September 27, 2012, the Supreme Court also denied a motion for reargument. The reargument opinin is noteworty bcaue it rejected te "look through" theory that the benefit confererd by a derivative suit should be limited to the interest in the corporation held by its the non-defendant stockholders. Share

Court Of Chancery Clarifies Controller Duty

In re Synthes Inc. Shareholder Litigation,  C.A. 6452-CS (August 17, 2012)

This decision clarifies the extent of a controlling shareholder's duties when selling her company. The controller is not required to sacrifice her own interests to benefit the minority, such as by accepting less for herself than others receive. Of course, the safe harbor is still equal treatment.

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Court Of Chancery: When Termination Is In Good Faith

Policemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago v. DV Realty Advisors LLC,  C.A. 7204-VCN (August 16, 2012)

While this issue continues to come up, it is still not clear when limited partners may terminate a manager when their limited partnership agreement only says they must act in "good faith."  Absent some more definitive standard, this decision holds the termination must be done honestly in fact and observe reasonable commercial standards.  Now is that clear enough?  In any case, if the manager fails to meet the deadline for submitting an annual financial statement, you may  "in good faith" fire her.

Affirmed, Del Supr. August 26, 2013

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Court Of Chancery Upholds Standing To Object To Subpoenas

Feeley v. NHAOCG LLC, C.A. 7304-VCL (August 16, 2012)

It has long been thought that Cede & Co. v Joule Inc., 2005 WL 736689 (Del. Ch. Feb. 7, 2005) denied standing to a party to object to a third party subpoena except on privilege grounds.  Well no more.  In this recent decision, the Court declared that Joule is wrong and that it will protect a party from excessive discovery.

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Court Of Chancery Explains Work Product Standard

New Jersey Carpenters Pension Fund v. infoGROUP, Inc.,  C.A. 5334-VCN (August 16, 2012)

This decision clarifies that to have discovery of work product a party needs only show a "substantial need" and that it would be an "undue hardship" to get the information some other way.  Despite some contrary language in the famous Garner case, there is no requirement that you also show the information is sought in "good faith."

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Court Of Chancery Limits Subpoena

Huff Fund Inv. Partnership v. CKx Inc.,  C.A. 6844-VCG (August 15, 2012)

This is another in a series of recent discovery decisions limiting the use of subpoenas.  Here the Court balanced the limited relevance of the information sought with the potential prejudice to the party asked to produce its trade secrets and denied some of the discovery.

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Court of Chancery Enforces Contractual Fee-Shifting Provision

Authored by Lewis H. Lazarus
This article was originally published in the Delaware Business Court Insider | August 8, 2012

 A contract provision in a limited liability company agreement that entitles the prevailing party to reimbursement for all reasonable fees and costs in connection with enforcement of the agreement, including reasonable attorney fees, is not unusual. In defending against such a claim, a nonprevailing party may challenge whether the claims arose under the agreement, whether expenses incurred in related litigation in other courts merit reimbursement and whether the fees are reasonable in light of the comparable fees and rates of the nonprevailing party. Sometimes a question arises, where similar issues exist involving substantially similar contracts but different parties, of whether the court must allocate the fees among the separate parties. What is unusual is for all of these issues to be addressed in one opinion. The Court of Chancery's recent decision in ASB Allegiance Real Estate Fund v. Scion Breckenridge Managing Member, 2012 WL 3027351 (Del. Ch. July 9, 2012), does just that and provides important guidance to practitioners regarding the nature of a claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and enforcement of contractual fee-shifting provisions. More ›

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Court Of Chancery Applies Relation Back Rule

Central Mortgage Company v. Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC, C.A. 5140-CS (August 7, 2012)

When a complaint is amended, the issue sometimes arises whether any new claims relate back to the original filing date so as to avoid the expiration of the statute of limitations.  In this decision, the Court explains that when the breach of contract alleged in the amended complaint arises out of different facts and is a different breach than in the original contract, then it does not relate back. Hence, it is a bad idea to wait to amend a complaint.

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Court Of Chancery Explains Accounting Damages

Gila Dweck v. Nasser,  C.A. 1353-VCL (August 2, 2012)

This decision explains how to calculate damages in an accounting action for breach of fiduciary duty.

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Court Of Chancery Explains Laches Defense In Contract Suit

Petroplast Petrofisa Plasticoes S.A. v. Ameron International Group, C.A. 4304-VCP (July 31, 2012)

When is a laches defense available in the Court of Chancery? This decision explains how to figure that out in a breach of contract case.

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Court Of Chancery Clarifies Blasius

Keyser v. Curtis, C.A. 7109-VCN  (July 31, 2012)

This decision clarifies that the rule of the Blasius decision is really just an application of the intermediate Unocal standard in reviewing director conduct. 

 

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Court Of Chancery Explains Disclosure Rules For Management Contracts

In re Micronetics Inc. Shareholder Litigation, C.A. 7626-VCP (July 24, 2012)

While each disclosure case will turn on its own facts, this decision gives an excellent overview of when employment contracts with management must be disclosed when notifying stockholders of a proposed merger with an acquiring company.  When management has been involved in the merger negotiations, any employment agreements and the surrounding circumstances must be disclosed.

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Court Of Chancery Explains Requirements For Expedition

APC Workforce Solutions LLC v. Gary D. Nelson Associates Inc., C.A. 7672-VCP (July 23, 2012)

When a plaintiff is able to show a "colorable claim" and that absent prompt relief it will suffer "irreparable harm," the Court of Chancery will expedite a hearing on its claims. However, exactly what that all means varies from case to case.  This is a good example of such a showing to obtain expedition in a breach of contract case.

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