Sky Blog
In an important decision interpreting the new Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law—added by the adoption of SB 21 in 2025—the Court of Chancery last week preliminarily enjoined a proposed recapitalization of Cloudflare, Inc. designed to preserve founder …
In Drakes Landing Associates, L.P. v. Tilden Park Capital Management, L.P. (Del. Ch. July 29, 2026), the Delaware Court of Chancery confronted an issue of first impression: how, if at all, the Revlon enhanced-scrutiny framework applies when the board of …
In March 2025, Delaware enacted sweeping changes to its General Corporation Law (DGCL) § 144, reshaping the treatment of transactions involving interested directors, officers, and controlling stockholders. Subsection (a) of § 144 provides safe harbors for transactions between a corporation …
In a significant ruling last month, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a Chancery Court decision that had invalidated an 18-month, nationwide noncompete agreement at the pleading stage. The decision in Payscale Inc. v. Norman, __ A.3d __, No. 297, …
A recent decision by the Delaware Court of Chancery in Giuliano v. Grenfell-Gardner, et al. involves a notable twist on the familiar Caremark line of oversight liability cases. After the subject company went into bankruptcy, a bankruptcy trustee gained access …
Any state that aspires to be a serious contender in the competition for corporate charters must have a specialized corporate law court. Delaware leads this competition in part because of its Court of Chancery, which has produced an exceptional body …
The Delaware Supreme Court is considering a constitutional challenge to SB21’s major amendments to Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. The challenge, in Thomas Rutledge v. Clearway Energy Group, et al, comes as Delaware is ostensibly facing the …
In a new article, I argue that, under current Delaware law, there is a collision between the definition of pre-suit demand and shareholder voice. To demonstrate, imagine that a sophisticated institutional shareholder of a Delaware public corporation has determined that …
On February 23, 2024, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued its decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters’ Pension Fund v. Moelis & Company, which invalidated a stockholder agreement between Moelis & Company (the “Company”) and its founder and controlling …
In In re Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery (in an opinion by Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster) clarified that, when exercising stockholder rights to alter a corporation’s status quo, controllers owe …
The material adverse effect (“MAE”) definition in mergers and acquisitions agreements is one of the most intensely negotiated, litigated, and studied contract provisions ever. It has nearly tripled in average length over the past two decades, as lawyers haggle over …
Plaintiff stockholder litigation against announced M&A deals continues to be a common feature of the U.S. M&A landscape, despite the prevalence of forum selection bylaws, the demise of disclosure only settlements and general skepticism by the Delaware courts. Over the …
On July 19, 2022, in the Twitter v. Musk litigation, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick presided over what was likely the most widely observed hearing on a motion to expedite in the Delaware Court of Chancery’s history. While deal bust-ups are front …
In 1996, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued its seminal decision in In re Caremark International Inc. Derivative Litigation,1 establishing the conditions for director oversight liability under Delaware law. Adopted a decade later by the Delaware Supreme Court in Stone …
In an important decision this week, the Delaware Court of Chancery permitted a Caremark duty-of-oversight claim to proceed against the directors of the Boeing Company. Stockholder plaintiffs sued Boeing’s board, seeking to recover costs and economic losses associated with the …
The torrid pace of new securities class action filings over the last several years slowed a bit in the first half of 2021, a period in which there have been many notable developments in securities law. This mid-year update briefs …
Delaware courts have recently had the opportunity to evaluate and discuss management of potential conflicts. That guidance may be particularly salient in the context of insider transactions and down-rounds, which may animate potential conflicts and lead to difficult litigation for …
Delaware’s success in attracting corporate formations is well known, but explanations for it vary. In a recent paper, I test these explanations as well as the reasons for Delaware’s success in attracting other types of business formation I find evidence …
During a four-month span in late 2018, two events occurred at opposite ends of the country that could dramatically reshape the regulation of corporations in America. First, in September 2018, California enacted the nation’s first law mandating board gender diversity…
The following compilation is our fifth annual review of significant state court decisions relevant for private company M&A transactions and related governance matters and disputes. The summary includes the landmark Akorn v. Fresenius decision, which is the first Delaware …