Justia Securities Law Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Delaware Court of Chancery
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In the case before the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, the plaintiff, West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund, filed a lawsuit against Moelis & Company on behalf of itself and other Class A stockholders of Moelis & Company. In 2014, Moelis & Company had entered into a stockholders agreement with three entities controlled by its CEO, Ken Moelis. The plaintiff argued that certain provisions in that agreement, which granted expansive rights to Ken Moelis, violated Section 141(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL).The Court found that the plaintiff's claims were not non-justiciable due to the plaintiff both suing too late and too early. The Court rejected the defendant's arguments that the plaintiff waited too long to file the lawsuit under the doctrine of laches, as the plaintiff's challenge to the legality of the provisions in the stockholders agreement was not time-barred. The Court also rejected the defendant's argument that the plaintiff sued too early, stating that the plaintiff could bring a facial challenge to the legality of the provisions in the agreement.The Court denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the basis of laches and ripeness. The Court held that the plaintiff's claim was ripe for adjudication and was not barred by the equitable defense of laches. The Court concluded that neither the passing of time nor the act of purchasing shares could validate a provision that is void as a violation of statutory law. The Court's decision is significant in affirming that claims challenging the validity of provisions in a corporate document that are contrary to statutory law are justiciable and cannot be barred by laches or ripeness defenses. The case now continues for further proceedings. View "West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company" on Justia Law

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The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware has selected the Friedlander Team as lead counsel and the NYC/Oregon Funds as lead plaintiffs in a derivative lawsuit against Fox Corporation. After the 2020 presidential election, Fox News broadcasted statements accusing two voting machine companies of facilitating election fraud, leading to defamation lawsuits against the network. Fox Corporation paid $787.5 million to settle one lawsuit, with another still pending. As a result, various stockholders filed derivative complaints, seeking to shift the losses from the corporation to the directors and officers allegedly responsible for the harm. The court was required to choose between two competing teams of attorneys to lead the consolidated actions. After evaluating the teams according to recently amended Rule 23.1, which identifies factors for consideration when resolving leadership disputes, the court selected the Friedlander Team and the NYC/Oregon Funds. The court noted the deliberate, client-driven process through which these entities were chosen, their resources and expertise, and the legitimacy conferred by the involvement of public officials. View "In re Fox Corporation Derivative Litigation" on Justia Law

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In this litigation in which Altaba, Inc. (the Company) sought dissolution under the framework established by Sections 280 and 281(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law the Court of Chancery held that the Company may make an interim distribution using its proposed amounts of security on the condition that it reserve funds for lawsuits pending in Canada resulting from data breaches that the Company disclosed in 2016 (the Canadian Actions Claim).As to all but two claims, in which the Company agreed to hold back the full amount of security requested by respective claimants, the Court of Chancery held that there was no obstacle to an interim distribution based on the amounts of security. For two claims, however, the Company sought to hold back less than the full amount of security requested by the claimants. The Court of Chancery held (1) as to the Canadian Actions Claim, if the Company wished to make an interim distribution to its stockholders it must reserve $1.05 billion Canadian; and (2) as to the second claim, the Company made a convincing showing that the amount it proposed to reserve was likely to be sufficient to provide compensation for claims that had not been made known to the Company or that had not yet arisen. View "In re Altaba, Inc." on Justia Law

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Plaintiffs alleged insider-trading side deals in connection with the sale of a small aerospace manufacturing company, Kreisler, and insufficient disclosure to stockholders regarding the sales process. Before the sale, Kreisler was offered to dozens of potential acquirers. Several bidders emerged. A fairness opinion was rendered and a special committee ultimately recommended the sale. The transaction was approved by written consent of a majority of the shares outstanding. A block of shares of just over 50 percent executed a stockholder support agreement providing for approval of the transaction, so there was no stockholder vote. An Information Statement was provided to stockholders to permit them to decide whether to seek appraisal. A majority of Kreisler’s board of directors are independent and disinterested, and its charter contains an exculpation provision. The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the complaint, finding that even accepting the well-pled allegations as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in the Plaintiff’s favor, the Complaint fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. View "Kahn v. Stern" on Justia Law

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United BioSource LLC (UBC) and Bracket Holding Corp. entered into a securities purchase agreement (SPA) pursuant to which Bracket purchased all equity interests and ownership interests in three subsidiaries of UBC, including P-Star Acquisition Co. Section 2.6(e) of the SPA governed the handling of certain tax refunds relating to pre-closing periods that may be received after the transaction’s closing. UBC later filed this complaint asserting a claim for specific performance. The complaint asserted that Bracket breached section 2.6(e) of the SPA by failing to forward a Pennsylvania tax refund to UBC within fifteen days of P-Star’s receipt of the refund. The Court of Chancery granted UBC’s motion for summary judgment seeking an order requiring Bracket to immediately forward the tax refund to UBC, holding that UBC clearly established that Bracket breached section 2.6 of the EPA based on undisputed facts, and Bracket’s affirmative defenses failed as a matter of law. View "United BioSource LLC v. Bracket Holding Corp." on Justia Law

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In 2012, a private equity firm purchased a trucking company now owned by Buyer through a merger transaction. Plaintiff initiated this action as the representative of the selling securityholders (Securityholders) to recover a preclosing tax refund. Buyer, in response, asserted several counterclaims. Securityholders sought to dismiss Buyer’s counterclaims. The Court of Chancery (1) denied Securityholders’ motion to dismiss Buyer’s common law fraud claim insofar as that claim asserted fraud based on extra-contractual statements made to Buyer before it entered the merger agreement, as Buyer was not prevented from asserting a claim for fraud based on representations outside the four corners of the merger agreement; (2) granted Securityholders’ motion to dismiss Buyer’s claim under the Delaware Securities Act and Buyer’s claim of unilateral mistake, as these claims failed to state a claim for relief; and (3) granted Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment concerning the tax refund claim, as Buyer had no defense to Plaintiff’s motion. View "FdG Logistics LLC v. A&R Logistics Holdings, Inc." on Justia Law