2020 – Page 3 – Delaware Docket

Chancery Court Holds Late Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim Is Barred By Laches

Aug 04 2020

By: Annette Becker; Pouya Ahmadi; Julia Knitter

In Gallagher Industries, LLC v. William M. Addy, et al., C.A. No. 2018-0106-SG (Del. Ch. May 29, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) held that because Gallagher Industries, LLC (the “Plaintiff”) decided not to pursue an appraisal action following a problematic cash-out merger five years earlier, the Plaintiff’s tolling claim against William M. Addy and Joseph E. Eastin (the “Defendants”) for breach of fiduciary duty for disclosure weaknesses was barred by laches.

Delaware Court of Chancery Rejects Business Judgment Rule Protection for Stockholder-Negotiated Redemption

Aug 04 2020

By: Joanna A. Diakos Kordalis and Monica Romero

In In re Dell Tech. Inc. Class V. Stockholders Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0816-JTL (Del. Ch. Jun. 11, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery denied defendants’ motion to dismiss the breach of fiduciary duty claim asserted against them finding that the complaint alleged facts that made it “reasonably conceivable” that the safe harbor established by Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp., 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014), would not apply and defendants would not get the benefit of the business judgment rule.

Master in Chancery Dismissive of Fiduciary Seeking Dismissal, Applies Familiar 12(b)(6) Standard

Aug 03 2020

By: Rich Minice and Annette Becker

In Hill et al. v. Myers et al., C.A. No. 2018-0160 (Del. Ch. June 15, 2020), Master in Chancery Selena Molina (“Master”) issued a final report, recommending the Court of Chancery deny defendant’s (decedent’s close friend and confident, and attorney-in-fact during his final years) motion to dismiss claims of undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty. The Master determined that the motion to dismiss brought by family members of the late G. Robert Dickerson, should be denied because the family members provided sufficient factual allegations to support their claims and establish standing.

Oracle Special Litigation Committee Defeats Motion to Compel Production of Protected Work Product

Aug 03 2020

By: Remsen Kinne and Michael C. Payant

In In re Oracle Corporation Derivative Litigation, Consolidated C.A. No. 2017-0337-SG (Del. Ch. July 9, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) determined that a special litigation committee (the “SLC”) of the board of directors (the “Board”) of Oracle Corporation (“Oracle”) had properly asserted work production protection and denied lead plaintiff’s motion to compel production on the basis of (i) sufficient need and unavailability of information, (ii) waiver, or (iii) breach of fiduciary duty by the SLC.

Chancery Court Declines to Dismiss Breach of Contract, Implied Covenant and Declaratory Judgment Claims Stemming from Termination Purportedly for Cause

Jul 28 2020

By: Scott E. Waxman, Michael C. Payant, and Julia M. Knitter

In William Patrick Sheehan, et al. v. AssuredPartners, Inc., et al., C.A. No. 2019-0333-AML (Del. Ch. May 29, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss brought by insurance brokerage firm, AssuredPartners, Inc. (“AP Inc.”), and its private equity backers (collectively, the “Defendants”) finding that plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and declaratory judgment survived under the minimal pleading standard for a motion to dismiss.

COURT OF CHANCERY DENIES MOTION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT

Jul 23 2020

By: Scott Waxman and Zack Sager

In DG BF, LLC v. Ray, the Delaware Court of Chancery denied the plaintiffs’ motion for declaratory judgment, which sought confirmation that a manager’s consent was necessary in order to issue a new series of units of a limited liability company and to amend a limited liability company agreement.

COURT OF CHANCERY SHEDS LIGHT ON THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF RESERVES FOR CORPORATIONS IN DISSOLUTION

Jul 21 2020

By Scott E. Waxman and Caitlin M. Velasco

In In re Swisher Hygiene, Inc., 2020 WL 3125415 (Del. Ch. June 12, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted Swisher Hygiene, Inc.’s (“Swisher”) Motion for Interim Distribution and rejected Honeycrest Holdings, Ltd.’s (“Honeycrest”) opposition, holding that the proposed amount of funds to be held in a reserve for a pending lawsuit between the two parties (the “Honeycrest Litigation”) was sufficient security pursuant to Section §280(c)(1) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”).

DELAWARE HOLDS THAT A SPECIAL COMMITTEE FORMED AB INITIO WILL CLEANSE A CONFLICTED TRANSACTION IN THE CONTEXT OF A MAJORITY-CONFLICTED BOARD AND UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCLOSURES REGARDING FINANCIAL ADVISORS

Jul 17 2020

By Scott E. Waxman and Sara M. Kirkpatrick

In Salladay v. Lev, C.A. No. 2019-0048-SG (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that former stockholders of Intersections, Inc. (“Intersections”) adequately pled facts that supported a pleading stage inference that WC SACD’s take-private merger of Intersections (the “Merger”) was subject to entire fairness review, because half of Intersections’ board stood on both sides of the transaction, and that it was reasonably conceivable that the merger was not entirely fair.

Delaware Court of Chancery holds that directors on a special committee are interested in a going-private merger when the merger effectively extinguishes their personal liability from viable derivative litigation

Jul 15 2020

By: Scott E. Waxman and Chris Fry

In Re AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, No. 2018-0396AGB (Del. Ch. 2020), George Karfunkel, Leah Karfunkel, and Barry Zyskind, the controlling stockholders of AmTrust Inc. (respectively, the “Controlling Stockholders” and “AmTrust”), teamed up with private equity firm, Stone Point Capital LLC (“Stone Point”), to take AmTrust private through a squeeze-out merger (the “Merger”), which closed in November 2018. Former stockholders (the “Plaintiffs”) challenged the Merger, asserting several claims for breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting against the Controlling Stockholders, Stone Point, and AmTrust’s Board of Directors (the “Board”), among other participants in the Merger (collectively, the “Defendants”). DeCarlo, Gulkowitz, Fisch, and Rivera sat on both the Board and the special committee (the “Special Committee”), which negotiated the Merger and made recommendations to the Board regarding the same. The Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) upheld the claims against the Board finding that the Controlling Stockholders and members of the Special Committee, except Rivera, were, among other issues, interested in the transaction, and therefore the Merger failed to comply with the procedures outlined in controlling precedent to obtain the benefit of a business judgment review, subjecting the Merger to the entire fairness standard of review.

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