Attorney-Client Privilege – Delaware Docket

Chancery Court Enforces Privileged Communications Provision to Protect Seller Following Merger

Jun 21 2019

In Shareholder Representative Services LLC v. RSI Holdco, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0517-KSJM (Del Ch. May 29, 2019) the Court of Chancery held that a privileged communications provision in a merger agreement protected the pre-merger communications between the seller and the seller’s legal counsel in spite of the buyer’s insistence that the privilege had transferred in the merger or had been waived.

IN MERGER-RELATED SUIT, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE PREVAILED OVER GARNER CHALLENGE

Sep 11 2017

By: Kevin Stichter and Nathan G. Harrill

In Salberg v. Genworth Financial, Inc., C.A. No. 2017-0018-JRS (Del. Ch. July 27, 2017), the Delaware Court of Chancery denied the demand by the plaintiff stockholders (the “Stockholders”) for books and records from defendant Genworth Financial, Inc. (“Genworth”) under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Genworth asserted the attorney-client privilege and the Stockholders sought to invoke the “celebrated” Garner fiduciary exception. While the § 220 demand was made in the context of a pending merger, influential to the ruling was the fact that the requested books and records were relevant to a separate derivative action among the same parties. Although most of the Garner “good cause” factors weighed in favor of an exception to the privilege, the court held that the unique facts and circumstances surrounding the Stockholders’ demand barred them from accessing privileged information that was shielded from discovery in the derivative suit.

Chancery Court Blocks Stockholders’ Push for Search of Non-Employee Directors’ Personal Email Accounts, But Orders Production of Certain Documents Withheld as Privileged, in Books and Records Action under DGCL Section 220

May 06 2015

By Whitney Smith and Lauren Garraux

In an April 30, 2015 Memorandum Opinion, Vice Chancellor Parsons denied in part and granted in part a motion by two lululemon athletica, inc. (“lululemon” or the “Company”) stockholders to enforce a prior court order directing the Company to produce books and records relating to an investigation of potential insider trading or Brophy claims against the Company’s founder and then-chairman of the board of directors, and potential claims for mismanagement against the other directors. In doing so, the Court held that requiring the Company to search its non-employee directors’ personal email accounts for responsive documents was unwarranted, but determined that certain documents withheld as privileged should be produced pursuant to the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege.

In May and October 2013, respectively, lululemon stockholders Hallandale Beach Police Officers and Firefighters’ Personnel Retirement Fund and Laborers’ District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) commenced separate actions under Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) Section 220, seeking documents relating to trades of Company stock involving Dennis Wilson, lululemon’s founder and then-chairman of its board in June of 2013. In particular, the timing of the trades — which were made within days of lululemon’s then-CEO’s announcement both to Wilson and the Company’s board that she planned to resign — raised questions, even prompting the Wall Street Journal (“WSJ”) to email the Company for confirmation of certain facts for a story regarding Wilson’s trades for an article which noted their favorable timing for Wilson.

Valuation Materials Prepared Pre-litigation by Appraisal Petitioners Are Discoverable

Dec 12 2014

By Eric Freedman and Sophia Lee Shin

FACTS

On June 11, 2013, Dole Food Company, Inc. (“Dole”) announced that its board had received an unsolicited proposal from David Murdock, Dole’s CEO, Chairman, and controlling stockholder, to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Dole’s common stock for $12 per share. Approximately two months later, Dole and Murdock announced an agreement to take Dole private in a merger at $13.50 per share (the “Merger”). On October 31, 2013, Dole held a special meeting of the stockholders at which the stockholders approved the Merger, and the transaction closed on November 1, 2013.

Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd. and Hudson Bay Merger Arbitrage Opportunities Master Fund Ltd. (together, “Hudson Bay”) and Ripe Holdings LLC (“Ripe”), as holders of Dole common stock, subsequently sought an appraisal for their shares. Ripe is a special-purpose investment vehicle managed by the affiliates of Fortress Investment Group (“Fortress”).

In re ISN Software Corp. Appraisal Litigation, C.A. No. 8388-VCG (April 10, 2014)

Apr 16 2014

By Kristy Harlan and Eric Taylor

This is a dispute about whether attorney-client privilege applies to certain draft documents, and whether a waiver of privilege was made with respect to certain other communications, in connection with an appraisal action. The petitioners are a number of venture capital funds seeking a determination of the fair value of their shares in ISN Software Corp. (“ISN”) following a freeze-outmerger in early 2013.

The petitioners contend that ISN has improperly claimed attorney-client privilege over certain draft documents, including draft board minutes, created by management but sent to legal counsel for review. The draft minutes in question were authored by management for meetings that legal counsel did not attend. ISN claimed privilege over the draft minutes because they were forwarded to counsel for review prior to finalization and are, according to ISN, therefore per se not discoverable. Citing its decision in Jedwab v. MGM Grand Hotels, Inc., 1986 WL 3426 (Del. Ch. Mar. 20, 1986), the Court held that this was incorrect–where drafts were not prepared by a lawyer in a setting in which they were intended to remain confidential and where attorneys did not gather the information contained therein, work-product doctrine does not shield documents from production.

The petitioners also sought to compel the production of documents reflecting otherwise-privileged communications evidencing how the ISN board arrived at its merger price. The petitioners sought to rely on the “at-issue” exception to privilege–that is, that the privileged communications are required in order to arrive at the truthful resolution of an issue injected into the litigation by a party–contending that ISN placed the merger price “at issue.” However, the Court disagreed and noted that the petitioners had adequate information sources to establish whether the merger price was indicative of fair value (including depositions of ISN managers and directors, board resolutions approving the merger agreement, and a valuation opinion obtained by the ISN board).

InreISNSoftware

Catagory:Attorney-Client Privilege