• In re Essendant, Inc. Stockholder Litig.

    Publication Date: 2020-01-15
    Practice Area: Mergers and Acquisitions
    Industry: Distribution and Wholesale
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Blake A. Bennett, Cooch and Taylor, P.A., Wilmington, DE; Juan E. Monteverde and Miles D. Schreiner, Monteverde & Associates PC, New York, NY; Donald J. Enright and Elizabeth K. Tripodi, Levi & Korsinsky, LLP, Washington, DC for plaintiffs.
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Arthur R. Bookout, and Lilianna Anh P. Townsend, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE; Gregory P. Williams, Lisa A. Schmidt, Matthew D. Perri, and Angela Lam, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Wilmington, DE; and Matthew Solum, P.C., and Ian Spain, of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, NY for defendants.

    Case Number: D68839

    Stockholders' breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from board's rejection of existing merger agreement in favor of all-cash acquisition offer dismissed where stockholders failed to make prima facie case of board's breach of the duty of loyalty and where acquirer's stake in the company was insufficient to make it a controlling stockholder for the purposes of an aiding and abetting claim.