Delaware Business Litigation Report: Litigation

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Litigation Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Litigation

Delaware Business Litigation Report

Provides business-related litigation information which has been summarized by attorneys currently practicing in Delaware's courts. Searchable Case Summary Database contains summaries of court opinions released since January 2005. Provides links to other resources such as the Delaware Code and administrative rules.
By Morris James LLP

Post Frequency: 5/day

Last Entry: March 29, 2011 at 12:53:19

Court of Chancery Explains Scope of Arbitration Agreement

Posted on December 18, 2007
Brown v. T-Ink, LLC ,C.A. No. 3190-VCP (December 18, 2007). Delaware courts have recently issued several decisions dealing with the scope of an agreement to arbitrate. This is yet another. The opinion is interesting for its explaination of the Delaware approach to determining whether it is for the arbitrator or the court to decide if an issue is subject to arbitration...

Superior Court: Equitable Counterclaim Does Not Equal Ticket to Chancery

Posted on December 13, 2007
Rembrandt Technologies, LP v. Harris Corp., 2007 WL 4237752 (Del. Super. Nov. 30, 2007). This decision demonstrates the willingness of Delaware courts to uphold the plaintiff’s choice of forum (between the Superior Court and the Court of Chancery), despite an argument by the defendant that transferring courts would allow the hearing of all claims and thus promote judicial economy...

Court of Chancery Holds Board Meeting Is Void

Posted on December 13, 2007
Fogel v. U.S. Energy Systems, Inc., C.A. No. 3271-CC (December 13, 2007). Directors often think that if they get together that is a real board of directors' meeting. Not so. As this decision holds, a board meeting is a formal event that must be preceded by the appropriate notice, be conducted by voting on the issues and otherwise be properly called and conducted...

Court of Chancery Dismisses Merger Claims

Posted on November 30, 2007
Globis Partners LP v. Plumtree Software, Inc., C.A. No. 1577-VCP (November 30, 2007). This decision explains why some attacks on a merger fail for want of a basis to avoid the business judgment rule and for a failure to make proper disclosure claims...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Court of Chancery Upholds Jurisdiction Over Nonresident Attorney

Posted on November 27, 2007
Sample v. Morgan, C.A. No. 1214-VCS (November 27, 2007). In this major decision, the Court of Chancery has upheld its jurisdiction over a non-Delaware attorney who is alleged to have aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty by directors. Given the breadth of this decision, it has major implications for counsel to Delaware corporations...

Supreme Court: When Standing is Closely Related to Merits, 12(b)(6) Applies, Not 12(b)(1)

Posted on November 26, 2007
Appriva Shareholder Litig. Co., LLC v. EV3, Inc., -- A.2d --, 2007 WL 3208783 (Del. Nov. 1, 2007)Deciding whether a motion to dismiss based on lack of standing is considered under Rule 12(b)(6) or 12(b)(1) has implications and has divided some courts...

Superior Court Holds Date-of-Discovery Rule Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations in Legal Malpractice Action When Evidence Indicates Knowledge of Facts Relevant to Claim

Posted on November 26, 2007
Boerger v. Heiman, 2007 WL 3378667 (Del. Super. Oct. 31, 2007)The three-year statute of limitations under 10 Del. C. § 8106, which begins to run at the time of the alleged breach in the case of a contract claim and at the time the injury occurs for a tort claim, may be tolled by, among other circumstances, the absence of observable factors that would place a layman on notice...

Court of Chancery Extends Books And Records Inspection

Posted on November 21, 2007
Melzer v. CNET Networks, Inc., C.A. No. 3023-CC (November 21, 2007). The scope of inspection rights may be affected by when a stockholder first acquired her stock. If the inspection is to investigate alleged wrongdoing, the rationale for granting inspection is to permit the filing of a derivative suit if the inspection shows that it is warranted...

Court of Chancery Limits Jurisdiction Over Officers

Posted on November 21, 2007
Ryan v. Gifford, C.A. No. 2213-CC (November 21, 2007). In 2003, Delaware amended its long arm statute to cover corporate officers who served in that capacity after January 1, 2004. Past decisions under the director section of this statute have focused on when a defendant is subject to it for acts committed before the date the statute deems the defendant's holding a corporate office is consent to jurisdiction by a Delaware court...

Court of Chancery Holds Advancement Lost Despite Conversion

Posted on November 20, 2007
Bernstein v. Tractmanager Inc., C.A. No. 7263-VCL (November 20, 2007). This decision illustrates the perils in converting from an LLC to a corporate form without considering the consequences. Here, the LLC involved did not provide for mandatory advancement rights...

Supreme Court Upholds Preferred Stock Provision

Posted on November 15, 2007
Hildreth v. Castle Dental Centers, Inc., Del. Sup. C.A. No. 195, 2007 (November 15, 2007). A tricky issue arises when a defective certificate of incorporation causes stock to be void. Here, the preferred stock was validly authorized but there was not enough common stock to fulfill the conversion rights of the preferred...

Superior Court: No Ambiguity, No Extrinsic Evidence, No Dice

Posted on November 09, 2007
Dubuque v. Taylor, 2007 WL 3106451 (Del. Super. Oct. 1, 2007) This case demonstrates that a Delaware court will not consider extrinsic evidence of the parties’ intent at the time of entering an agreement if the terms of the document are unambiguous...

Update To Bear Stearns/Morgan Chase Litigation In Delaware

Posted on December 31, 1969
Recent Update as at 4:00 p.m./03/31/08: Vice Chancellor Parsons of the Delaware Court of Chancery heard arguments this afternoon in connection with Defendants motion to dismiss or alternatively to stay the Delaware TRO action in favor of the first-filed New York action...

SEC General Counsel Brian G. Cartwright Addresses the Role of Foreign and Domestic States in Securities Regulation and General Corporation Law

Posted on December 31, 1969
SEC General Counsel Brian Cartwright discussed the emergence of transnational businesses and the global securities market in a speech at Widener University School of Law on March 28, 2008. The speech, titled "The Role of the States (Foreign and Domestic)" (available here), focused on the implications the global securities market and the spread of free market economies around the world creates for federal securities regulation and states' regulation of internal corporate affairs...

Supreme Court Affirms PHLX Settlement

Posted on December 31, 1969
In The Matter Of The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Inc., Del Sup., C.A. 613/615, 2007 (March 27, 2008). This comprehensive decision explains Delaware law on the settlement of a class action when the proceeds of a settlement will involve buyers, sellers, and holders of stock in a Delaware corporation...

Court of Chancery Upholds Proxy Power

Posted on December 31, 1969
In Re IAC/Interactivecorp, C.A. 3486-VCL (Del. Ch. March 28, 2008) In this widely reported decision, the Court of Chancery applied well established principles of contract construction to determine when a proxy would be upheld. Once again, the Court rejected an attempt to modify the contract language to imply a duty of good faith and fair dealing, or a fiduciary duty that would override the rights given in the contract.

Court of Chancey Holds Only Compulsory Counterclaims Warrant Advancement

Posted on December 31, 1969
Reinhard & Kreinberg v. The Dow Chemical Co., C.A. 3003-CC (Del. Ch. March 28, 2008)Corporate bylaws sometimes provide advancement rights in litigation filed by a director, but that is rare. However, when a director is sued, the question remains if he has advancement rights in that circumstance, and whether he may get those rights to cover a counterclaim in the absence of a bylaw right to do so when bringing litigation...

Court of Chancery Limits Advancement Rights Upon Bylaw Amendment

Posted on December 31, 1969
Schoon v. Troy, C.A. 2362-VCL (Del. Ch. March 28, 2008) Directors who rely on advancement rights under a corporate bylaw need to be aware that those rights may be lost if the bylaw is amended. Delaware law, as this decision notes, permits elimination of advancement rights in a bylaw at least up to the moment those rights "vest" by the filling of a suit that entitled the director to advancement...

Court of Chancery Explains Bylaw on Proxy Solicitation

Posted on December 31, 1969
JANA Master Fund, Inc.v. CNET Networks, Inc., C.A. 3447-CC (Del. Ch. March 13, 2008) This is a useful decision on the proper interpretation of a bylaw that governs stockholder proxy proposals in light of SEC Rule 14a-8. The Court held that the bylaw only applied to stockholder requests to have a proposal included in the company's proxy materials under rule 14a-8...

The Tulane Corporate Law Institute Gets Underway Today

Posted on December 31, 1969
The annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute takes place today and tomorrow in New Orleans. The conference brings together the country's most prominent corporate law practitioners, judges, and bankers to discuss the important developments in the world of M&A and corporate law...

Day Two At The Tulane Corporate Law Institute Conference

Posted on December 31, 1969
Today is the second and final day of the Tulane Corporate Law Institute conference.The New York Times DealBook is reporting live, with a look at the private equity market here and coverage of comments by Martin Lipton, Joseph Perella, and Chief Justice Steele here...

Related Law Bulletins

Report Offers Motor Vehicle Accident Death Rates in Frederick County, Maryland Between 2001 and 2006
A recent analysis by the Frederick News-Post of deadly accidents i...

Insurance Department Issues Second Annual Ohio Medical Liability Closed Claim Report
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Insurance has issued its secon...

UNICEF report on Gender Equality and Children
According to a report from UNICEF, despite the international commu...

Report on Opening Records for Adult Adoptees
"FOR THE RECORDS: RESTORING A RIGHT TO ADULT ADOPTEES Author: Made...

Update on AILF's Legal Action Center Visa Bulletin Litigation (Updated 7/10/07)
The following is the latest update from AILF regarding its pening ...