Court of Chancery Approves Modifying Merger-Related Class Action Settlement to Distribute Proceeds to Record Stockholders through DTC
In re Dole Food Company, Inc., Stockholders Litigation
By: Remsen Kinne and Eryn Correa
The Court of Chancery granted a motion for leave to modify a settlement agreement in a merger-related class action suit to distribute settlement proceeds through DTC to Dole Food Company, Inc. (“Dole”) common stockholders of record. The Court held that the original stipulation providing for settlement proceeds to be distributed to both record holders and beneficial holders through a traditional notices and claims forms process proved to be too costly and burdensome in practice, which justified modifying the allocation procedure.