Posts from 2008

Special Committee Releases Report on Delaware Superior Court Toxic Tort Litigation

A Special Committee appointed by the Delaware Superior Court has released its report and recommendations on Superior Court toxic tort litigation. The report (copy available here) followed the Special Committee’s investigation into concerns expressed by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce that an increasingly large number of asbestos cases was adversely impacting the ability of the Delaware Superior Court to effectively and fairly adjudicate civil cases.

The Special Committee

• solicited input from all the parties involved in toxic tort litigation in Delaware
• held a public hearing where numerous persons spoke (including practicing attorneys, law professors and Chamber representatives) and
• met separately with representative groups of defendants’ and plaintiffs’ counsel. 

Almost entirely, the focus of all these groups was on asbestos litigation.  After studying all this information for over five months, the Committee concluded “that the Delaware asbestos litigation is fairly conducted for both defendants and plaintiffs and is effectively resolving claims ... very well.”

The Special Committee particularly noted the willingness of the Superior Court judges to meet with the litigants’ counsel to structure unique procedures that fit their needs in this high-volume litigation. Recently, those procedures were amended to address concerns over plaintiffs’ disclosures and other matters. Hence, the Special Committee recommended that the parties to Delaware's asbestos litigation continue to address amongst themselves how to solve any remaining concerns over how that litigation is conducted.

While it is too early to know if the Special Committee’s report will be fully accepted by all concerned, initial reactions have been positive. In particular, the willingness of the Delaware courts to address litigants’ concerns in a positive manner has served to further support Delaware’s reputation for a fair court system. 

Edward M. McNally, a Partner and Chair of the Litigation Practice of Morris James LLP, was a member of the Special Committee.  If you have specific questions about the report, he can be contacted here.

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Court of Chancery Determines Complex Indemnification Claim

Zaman v. Amedeo Holdings Inc., C.A. 3115-VCS (Del. Ch. May 23, 2008)

Determining when indemnification rights apply is sometimes tough to do. The claims for which indemnification are sought are often drafted so as to avoid alleging that the defendant is being sued for something he did as an officer or director, but instead allege that he acted in a personal or agency relationship such as a lawyer. In this case, the Court of Chancery offers an insight into how that Court will parse through this problem. Put simply (and perhaps too simply), if there is a doubt as to the basis for the claim, the person seeking indemnification will prevail. This is as it should be given the importance of preserving the right of indemnification.

This opinion also has some interesting insights into how to apply the Roven analysis that permits a defendant to counterclaim and still obtain indemnification for the fees incurred for acting offensively.

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Superior Court Alters ADR Rules, Substitutes Mediation as Default Format

Effective March 1, 2008, the Superior Court amended Civil Rule 16 and repealed Civil Rule 16.1 to alter the compulsory alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") process mandated under Court rules.  The amendments substitute mediation for arbitration as the Court's default format for ADR in the event the parties cannot agree.  The amendments also require parties to make a good faith effort to agree on an ADR Practitioner, or face possible Court-imposed sanctions.

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District Court Dismisses Declaratory Relief, Contract Claim for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

Solae, LLC v. Hershey Canada Inc., 2008 WL 2011914 (D. Del. May 9, 2008)

Solae LLC (“Solae”), a Delaware LLC with a principal place of business in Missouri, brought a declaratory relief and breach of contract action in Delaware District Court against Hershey Canada, Inc. (“Hershey Canada”), a Canadian corporation with its principal place of business in Ontario. The claims arose out of a contract for Solea’s provision of soy lecithin to Hershey Canada’s Ontario facility. A shipment of the product contained salmonella, prompting a recall of Hershey Canada’s product in Canada and a Canadian government investigation. Hershey Canada informed Solae that it was liable for any ensuing damages from the recall and investigation, and also refused to accept or pay for additional deliveries of the product under the contract. Solae thereafter initiated this declaratory relief and breach action, and Hershey Canada sought dismissal, among other things, on lack of personal jurisdiction grounds.  More ›

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Court of Chancery Upholds LLC Agreement Voting Rights

Fisk Ventuers LLC v. Segal, C.A. 3017-CC (Del. Ch. May 7, 2008)

A Delaware LLC is a creature of the members' contract. Here the LLC agreement gave voting rights to a class of members that effectively gave them veto rights over certain actions. When those members exercised those veto rights, the other members sued claiming that constituted a breach of duty. The Chancellor flatly rejected that argument as an attack on the veto rights that were given in the LLC Agreement.

The opinion also holds that a member's consultation with his designated managers on the LLC Board does not give Delaware jurisdiction over that member under the long arm statute's provisions that subject managers to jurisdiction in Delaware.

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Court of Chancery Again Rejects a One Person Special Litigation Committee

Sutherland v. Sutherland, C.A. 2399-VCL (Del. Ch. May 5, 2008)

Once again, the Court of Chancery has shot down a motion to dismiss a derivative suit based on the work of a one person SLC. This time while finding the SLC was independent, the Court felt its work was not adequate because of a lack of effort in reviewing accounting records.

The opinion is a useful collection of SLC law, particularly what not to do if you are going to use a SLC.

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Court of Chancery Interprets Limitations Law on Arbitration Demands

Personnel Decisions Inc. v. Business Planning Systems Inc., C.A. 3213-VCS (Del. Ch. May 5, 2008)

The Delaware Arbitration Act has a statute of limitations that is not found in some other arbitration acts. Here the court held that a demand for arbitration was barred by that limitation and as a result, arbitration would be enjoined. The decision is particularly important in setting out when the limitations period begins to expire.

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Court of Chancery Denies Inspection of Partnership Records

Madison Real Estate Immobilien-Anlagegesellschaft Beschrankt Haftende KG v. KanAm USA XIX LP, C.A. 2863-VCP (Del. Ch. May 1, 2008)

This case sets out the law governing the right to inspect a limited partnership's records, particularly in the context of a possible tender offer. Delaware law draws a distinction between seeking inspection to determine the value of one's interest in the partnership and seeking inspection for purposes of making a tender offer. In the later case, inspection may be denied as not being for a purpose truly related to acting as a partner, but instead as an acquiror. While one might argue this distinction is too fine a line to draw, that is the law for now.

The opinion is also noteworthy for dealing with how to interpret a partnership agreement's contractual right to inspect. As the opinion points out, the right to inspect "books of account" is not as broad as the right to inspect "books and records."

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Court of Chancery Permits Special Committee Discovery

Young v. Klaassan, C.A. 2770-VCL (Del. Ch. April 25, 2008)

The use of a special committee of the board to avoid derivative suits over allegations of breach of duty is well recognized. What is less well known is how to use the work of such a committee. Here the defendants improperly argued that a derivative suit should be dismissed because of the conclusions of a special committee formed after the complaint was filed. That use of information not alleged in the complaint converted the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment and thereby permitted discovery into the work of the special committee.

The opinion also notes the "unusual" nature of the special committee in this case. The committee did not issue a report, barely had its existence disclosed, and otherwise proceeded irregularly. One has to wonder why it was even formed if it was to act so poorly.

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Ebay Brings Stockholder Action In Court of Chancery Against Craigslist And Its Directors For Diluting Its Minority Stake

Yesterday eBay Domestic Holdings Inc. brought an action in the Court of Chancery, C.A. 3705-CC, against Craigslist and certain of its directors, challenging recent transactions implemented by the Craigslist board. eBay acquired a minority ownership interest in Craigslist (28.4%) back in 2004.  It now alleges that Craigslist's directors have taken unilateral action in violation of their fiduciary duties and have disadvantaged eBay and its investment. 

The complaint was filed under seal.  The matter has been retained by Chancellor Chandler.   

The WSJ Law Blog has coverage here.  And, The NY Times reports here.   

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Delaware Retains Top Ranking for Fairness of Litigation Climate

For the seventh year in a row, Delaware received the highest score in a nationwide survey of state liability systems undertaken by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.  Delaware ranked at the top of eight of the twelve categories ranked, including judicial competence, judicial impartiality, timeliness of summary judgment or dismissal, treatment of class action suits, and overall treatment of tort and contract litigation.  The survey did record a slight decline from last year in Delaware's rankings of jury predictability and jury fairness.  The report can be viewed at www.instituteforlegalreform.com. Share

Superior Court Dismisses Negligent Misrepresentation Claim Because Contract Barred Reliance On Extra-Contractual Representations

Transched Sys. Ltd. v. Versyss Transit Solutions, LLC, 2008 WL 948307 (Del. Super. Apr. 2, 2008)

This case illustrates Delaware’s objective theory of contract interpretation and underscores the importance of certain standard contractual provisions. 

The plaintiff purchased software from the defendants and argued that it incurred significant losses due to material misrepresentations, including, for example, the extent of completion of the software.  The defendants argued that the material misrepresentation claim was barred by the plain language of the contract, namely the exclusive remedy clause, integration clause, and disclaimer of extra-contractual representations. 

The contract stated that indemnification was the exclusive remedy “in respect of any breach of or default under this Agreement . . . .”  The integration clause stated that the written agreement was the entire agreement.  And, the reps and warranties clause stated that the seller was making no representation or warranty in respect of any of its assets.  The court held that the thrust of these three provisions was unambiguous: “no representations made outside of the four corners of the Agreement are to be given consideration by the parties in interpreting the terms.”  That is, the provisions precluded the plaintiff’s argument that it justifiably relied on the extra-contractual claims made by the defendants.

Accordingly, the Superior Court dismissed the plaintiff’s negligent misrepresentation claim.   

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Court of Chancery Upholds Right To Nominate Directors

Levitt Corp. v. Office Depot, Inc., C.A. No. 3622-VCN (Del. Ch. April 14, 2008)

This is a case of bylaws gone bad. While the obvious intent of the company's advance notice bylaw was to obtain notice of what directors a dissident slate might want to nominate, the language of the bylaws was fatally deficient. Thus, this decision gives a good drafting lesson .

The bylaw required advanced notice of an intent to bring a matter before the annual meeting. However, the bylaw made an exception for any matter the company itself had noticed for the meeting. When the company, as always, noticed the meeting would include the election of directors, the court held that included the nomination of directors as part of the matters to be considered. Thus, the court held that the intent to nominate a dissident slate need not be noticed again by the dissidents in accordance with the advance notice bylaw provisions.

The way to avoid this mistake is to make it clear in the bylaws that the intent to nominate a slate different than that proposed by the company is subject to a reasonable advance notice provision in the bylaws. In short, state the rules of the game clearly.

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Court of Chancery Explains Causation Rules for Attorney Fee Award

Helaba Invest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft v. Fialkow, C.A. No. 2683-VCL (Del. Ch. April 11, 2008)

Attorneys who cause a benefit for stockholders are entitled to be awarded. However, the benefit must be caused by the litigation they filed and not just happen to follow the institution of litigation. This gets tricky to determine sometimes as the plaintiff's attorneys insert themselves into the process of negotiating a higher merger price and then claim credit for it. Who gets that credit is the question.

That issue will be decided based on a record that includes the views of the participants in the merger discussions. Hence, that needs to be kept in mind and the record made at the time the events occur. 

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Preeminence of Delaware Courts for Business Litigation Highlighted

In the most recent edition of the ABA's Business Law Today publication, Vice Chancellor Donald F. Parsons, Jr., of the Delaware Court of Chancery, and Judge Joseph R. Slights, III, of the Delaware Superior Court review the history and development of the Delaware courts as the leading business courts in the country. The article titled, "The History of Delaware's Business Courts - Their Rise to Preeminence,"(available here) details some of the many features of both the Court of Chancery and the Superior Court that have made Delaware the forum of choice for complex corporate and commercial litigation. 

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