Delaware Business Litigation Report

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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