Legal News

Fir Tree Value Master Fund, L.P. v. Jarden Corp., No. 454, 2019 (Del. July 9, 2020) - Adding to its appraisal jurisprudence, the Supreme Court of Delaware recently affirmed the use of the unaffected trading price of a public corporation’s stock to determine its “fair value” in the circumstances presented, while clarifying that “it is not often that a corporation’s unaffected market price alone could support fair value.”...By: Morris James LLP

In re HomeFed Corporation Stockholder Litigation, C.A. 2019-0592-AGB (Del. Ch. July 13, 2020) - This case illustrates that the Court of Chancery will apply the entire fairness standard to review a squeeze-out merger by a controller, if the controller engages in substantive economic discussions before the company has enacted the procedural protections outlined in Kahn v. M & F Worldwide Corp, 88 A.3d 635 (Del. 2014) (“MFW”) that would permit business judgment review. In this case, Jefferies......

Forescout Tech., Inc. v. Ferrari Grp. Holdings, L.P., C.A. No. 2020-0385-SG (Del. Ch. July 14, 2020) - In the midst of this global pandemic, the Court of Chancery certified an interlocutory appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court to address two unique issues presented by COVID-19: (i) whether the Court could rightly decide to accept trial testimony remotely; and (ii) whether the Court had discretion to decline to compel a witness to travel to Delaware so that the witness may be cross-examined...By...

In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Litig., C.A. No. 2017-0337-SG (Del. Ch. July 9, 2020) - After investigating certain potential derivative claims arising out of Oracle Corporation’s acquisition of NetSuite, Inc., and after trying unsuccessfully to settle those claims, Oracle’s Special Litigation Committee (“SLC”) agreed that permitting a derivative plaintiff to pursue those claims was in Oracle’s best interests....By: Morris James LLP

Roundpoint Mortgage Servicing Corp. v. Freedom Mortgage Corp., C.A. No. 2020-0161-SG (Del. Ch. July 22, 2020) - To establish an implied contractual obligation pursuant to the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, a party must prove that, even though the contract does not state the term at issue, the parties would have agreed to it had they thought to negotiate it at the time of contracting....By: Morris James LLP

Kruse v. Synapse Wireless, Inc., C.A. No. 12392-VCS (Del. Ch. July 14, 2020) - This case illustrates how appraisal works outside of the public market context when a lack of data hinders a reliable valuation. Here, stockholder William Richard Kruse (“Kruse”) sought appraisal of his shares of SynapseWireless, Inc. (“Synapse”), a privately-owned corporation. McWane Inc. (“McWane”) acquired Synapse in two rounds of investments: McWane, first, acquired a controlling interest in 2012, and, then...

Schneider Nat’l Carriers, Inc. v. Kuntz, C.A. No. 2017-0711-PAF (Del. Ch. July 16, 2020) - If parties to a contract offer reasonable but conflicting interpretations of ambiguous contractual language, the Court of Chancery may deny summary judgment and order trial for purposes of weighing conflicting extrinsic evidence and witness testimony to interpret the meaning of the contractual language....By: Morris James LLP

The Williams Cos., Inc. v. Energy Transfer LP, C.A. No. 12168-VCG (Del. Ch. July 2, 2020) - The Court of Chancery will enforce a merger agreement’s plain and unambiguous terms, including parties’ agreed-upon conditions for liability of a termination fee....By: Morris James LLP

In re Oracle Corp. Derivative Litig, Consol. C.A. No. 2017-0337-SG (Del. Ch. June 22, 2020) - At the pleadings stage, a claim for aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty requires that it is reasonably conceivable that the alleged aider and abettor knowingly provided substantial assistance in the breach of fiduciary duty....By: Morris James LLP

Fortis Advisors LLC v. Allergan W.C. Holding Inc., C.A. No. 2019-0159-MTZ (Del. Ch. May 14, 2020). Plaintiff, as representative for the former stockholders of Oculeve, Inc., sued Defendant Allergan for alleged material breaches of the Merger...By: Morris James LLP