Defective Corporate Act – Delaware Docket

Court of Chancery Judicially Validates Company’s Ratification of Defective Corporate Acts, Therefore Rejecting Bid to Unwind Merger

Oct 30 2018

By Holly Hatfield and B. Ashby Hardesty, Jr.

In Charles Almond, et al. v. Glenhill Advisors LLC, et al., C.A. No. 10477-CB, Chancellor Bouchard ruled in favor of the defendants, directors of furniture company Design Within Reach Inc. (the “Company”) and Glenhill Capital Management LP (“Glenhill”), on all of the plaintiff-investors’ claims relating to the 2014 acquisition of DWR by Herman Miller, Inc. (“Herman Miller”). In doing so, Chancellor Bouchard judicially validated certain measures taken by Herman Miller to rectify an error that had diluted its ownership stake in the Company. Chancellor Bouchard also dismissed claims challenging transactions through which the Company’s board members received additional equity in the Company before the merger, holding that because these claims were derivative in nature, the plaintiffs’ standing to bring such claims were extinguished because of the merger.

Chancery Court Finds that Its Broad Authority to Validate Defective Corporate Acts Could Conceivably Compel a Corporation to Sell $5 Million of Stock Without Board Authorization or a Written Agreement

Feb 12 2016

By Shoshannah Katz and B. Ashby Hardesty, Jr.

Citing the Chancery Court’s broad discretionary authority to validate defective corporate acts, Vice Chancellor Noble denied a defendant corporation’s motion to dismiss, ruling that it was “reasonably conceivable” that a plaintiff hedge fund could successfully compel the corporation to sell to it approximately $5 million worth of stock, despite the board of directors’ failure to authorize the transaction or to memorialize it in writing.

Catagory:Defective Corporate Act