Delaware Supreme Court Building Equitable Review in the Delaware Court of Chancery: Revisiting 'Schnell,' 'Blasius' and the Court's Role as Equitable Gatekeeper To Protect the Stockholder Franchise
A string of recent Delaware decisions have reaffirmed the critical role the Delaware courts play in ensuring that corporate transactions are "twice-tested"—for both legal validity and equitable fairness. These holdings affirm that the demanding standards set forth in 'Schnell' and 'Blasius' are alive and well, particularly when it comes to director actions that burden or interfere with the stockholder franchise.
October 13, 2022 at 10:00 AM
8 minute read
Delaware law has long held that "inequitable action does not become permissible simply because it is legally possible." And, when stockholder voting rights are implicated, even good faith actions by a board will not be upheld absent a "compelling justification." These holdings arose from Delaware's seminal decisions in Schnell v. Chris-Craft Industries, 285 A.2d 437 (Del. 1971), and Blasius v. Atlas Industries, 564 A.2d 651 (Del. Ch. 1988).
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Turbocharge Growth: How Technology Will Shape a Successful 2025
Fatal Shooting of CEO Sets Off Scramble to Reassess Executive Security
5 minute read
The Corporate Transparency Act: One Year Later With Deadline Looming
4 minute read
The Elliott Management vs. Southwest Airlines Faceoff: Who Won and What Determined the Outcome?
7 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Phila. Jury Awards $15M to Woman Who Slipped on Apartment Building Stairs
- 2Appellate Division Greenlights State Bar's Leadership Diversity Initiatives
- 3SEC’s Latest Enforcement Actions Fuel Demand for Big Law
- 4Sterlington Brings On Former Office Leader From Ashurst
- 5DOJ Takes on Largest NFT Scheme That Points to Larger Trend
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
