James L Hallowell

April 08, 2020 | Delaware Business Court Insider

This holding leaves the door open to Delaware corporations adopting additional charter provisions regulating such intra-corporate claims.

By James L. Hallowell, Mark H. Mixon, Jr. and Andrew Kuntz

7 minute read

February 13, 2019 | Delaware Business Court Insider

The Court of Chancery's holding in Salzberg offers what might seem to be a cautious interpretation of the reach of Delaware corporate law.

By James L. Hallowell and Mark H. Mixon Jr.

7 minute read

April 18, 2018 | Delaware Business Court Insider

Does a nonresident officer's prior service to a Delaware corporation allow the Delaware courts to compel her to appear to testify at trial as a third-party witness?

By James L. Hallowell and Lee R. Crain

6 minute read

March 14, 2017 | Delaware Business Court Insider

In early February, Justice Randy Holland, the longest-tenured member of the Delaware Supreme Court, announced his plans to retire at the end of March.

By James L. Hallowell and Lauren M. Sager

15 minute read

January 20, 2016 | Delaware Business Court Insider

The new year presents an opportunity to reflect on the Delaware Court of Chancery's very active 2015.

By James L. Hallowell and Ari S. Ruben

7 minute read

December 17, 2014 | Delaware Business Court Insider

On Nov. 5, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster issued a decision in In re Kinder Morgan Corporate Reorganization Litigation, C.A. No. 10093-VCL (Del. Ch. 2014), that reminds practitioners that attention to the technical requirements of relevant business entities remains a key tenet of Delaware practice.

By James L. Hallowell and Brian R. Morgenstern

6 minute read

July 15, 2014 | Delaware Business Court Insider

On June 25, 2013, then-Chancellor Leo E. Strine Jr. of the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a widely discussed ruling in Boilermakers Local 154 Retirement Fund v. Chevron, 73 A.3d 934 (Del. Ch. 2013), in which he upheld as statutorily valid and contractually enforceable so-called "forum selection" bylaws that were unilaterally adopted by the boards of Chevron Corp. and Federal Express. The bylaws require all stockholder litigation relating to each company's internal affairs to be brought in Delaware, the state of incorporation for both. Given the explosion of multijurisdictional stockholder litigation over the past few years, many commentators predicted that Boilermakers would lead the boards of large and midsized corporations everywhere to adopt similar forum-selection bylaws and drive stockholder litigation away from other jurisdictions and into Delaware's courts. So what has happened in the year since Strine's decision?

By James L. Hallowell and Jefferson E. Bell

6 minute read

November 28, 2012 | Delaware Business Court Insider

Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law affords shareholders of Delaware corporations the right to inspect the books and records of corporations in which they hold an ownership interest. This right is subject to compliance with certain form and manner requirements and a demonstration that the shareholder seeks the inspection for a proper purpose, defined as a purpose reasonably related to the requester's interest as a shareholder. The shareholder has the burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, a proper purpose for each item sought.

By James L. Hallowell

5 minute read

May 22, 2013 | Delaware Business Court Insider

In orders issued in two recent high-profile shareholder actions, the Delaware Chancery Court provided new guidance regarding lead plaintiffs' shareholdings in representative proceedings. Addressing organizational matters in separate actions arising from proposed corporate transactions involving Dell Inc. and NYSE Euronext, Chancellor Leo E. Strine Jr. ordered restrictions on lead plaintiffs' trading in the relevant shares during the litigation's pendency.

By James L. Hallowell and Justin Nematzadeh

6 minute read