• Levy Family Investors, LLC v. Oars + Alps LLC

    Publication Date: 2022-02-08
    Practice Area: Contracts
    Industry: Consumer Products | Investments and Investment Advisory
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Rudolf Koch, Matthew D. Perri, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Wilmington, DE; Greg Shinall, Michael G. Dickler, Sperling & Slater, P.C., Chicago, IL for plaintiffs.
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Sarah R. Martin, Michelle L. Davis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE; Ryan D. Stottmann, Miranda N. Gilbert, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, Wilmington, DE; Tamir Young, Studin Young PC, Hauppauge, NY; Peter B. Ladig, Elizabeth A. Powers, Sarah T. Andrade, Bayard, P.A., Wilmington, DE for defendants.

    Case Number: D69703

    The court held that because there were two competing and reasonable interpretations of certain contract language, the contract was ambiguous, and the ambiguity barred a motion to dismiss as a matter of law or on the pleadings.

  • Yatra Online, Inc. v. Ebix, Inc.

    Publication Date: 2021-09-15
    Practice Area: Mergers and Acquisitions
    Industry: Software | Transportation | Travel and Tourism
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Gregory V. Varallo, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP; Wilmington, DE; Mark Lebovitch, Daniel E. Meyer, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, New York, NY; Alisa E. Moen, Moen Law LLC, Wilmington, DE for plaintiff.
    for defendant: Paul J. Lockwood, Cliff C. Gardner, Elisa M.C. Klein, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE; Tammy L. Mercer, Lakshmi A. Muthu, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, Wilmington, DE; Robert A. Muckenfuss, Kelly A. Warlich, McGuireWoods LLP, Charlotte, NC; Kayla J. Marshall, McGuireWoods LLP, Washington DC; Michael D. DeBaecke, F. Troupe Mickler IV, Ashby & Geddes, P.A., Wilmington, DE; Victor A. Walton, Jr., Eric W. Richardson, David F. Hine, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, Cincinnati, OH for defendants.

    Case Number: D69537

    Where plaintiff terminated a merger agreement, the termination provision in the agreement prevented plaintiff from re-covering against defendant for breach of contract.

  • Flannery v. Genomic Health, Inc.

    Publication Date: 2021-09-01
    Practice Area: Mergers and Acquisitions
    Industry: Biotechnology
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Samuel L. Closic, Eric J. Juray, Prickett, Jones & Elliott, P.A., Wilmington, DE; Stephen J. Oddo, Gregory E. Del Gaizo, Eric M. Carrino, Robbins LLP, San Diego, CA for plaintiff.
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Stefania A. Rosca, Matthew R. Conrad, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE; C. Barr Flinn, Emily V. Burton, Peter J. Artese, Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, Wilmington, DE; Douglas A. Rappaport, Kaitlin D. Shapiro, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, New York, NY; Daniel A. Mason, Brendan W. Sullivan, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Wilmington, DE; Daniel J. Toal, Geoffrey Chepiga, Caitlin E. Grusauskas, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, NY; William M. Lafferty, Daniel T. Menken, Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, Wilmington, DE; Tariq Mundiya, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, New York, NY for defendants.

    Case Number: D69521

    The court granted defendants' motions to dismiss plaintiff's breach of fiduciary duty claims, because plaintiff did not establish any improper conduct in connection with a merger.

  • 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.

  • PPL Corp. v. Riverstone Holdings LLC

    Publication Date: 2019-11-06
    Practice Area: Contractual Disputes
    Industry: Energy | Investments and Investment Advisory
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Paul J. Lockwood, Robert A. Weber, Nicole A. DiSalvo, Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Wilmington, DE; George A. Zimmerman, Jonathan Frank, Tansy Woan, Andrew N. Goldman and Charles C. Platt, Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, NY for PPL plaintiffs.
    for defendant: Thomas G. Macauley, Macauley LLC, Wilmington, DE; Joshua L. Siefert of Joshua L. Siefert PLLC, New York, NY for plaintiff Farr. Rolin P. Bissell and James M. Yoch, Jr., Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, Wilmington, DE; Michael C. Holmes, Melissa L. James and Devin L. Kerns, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Dallas, TX for Riverstone, Raven Power, C/R Energy and Sapphire Power defendants. David E. Ross and R. Garrett Rice, Ross Aronstam & Moritz LLP, Wilmington, DE; Karl Stern and Kate K. Shih, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, New York, NY; Andrew J. Rossman, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, New York NY; Adam B. Wolfson of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Los Angeles, CA for Talen defendants.

    Case Number: D68763

    The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss or stay this action, because the agreement at issue contained a Delaware fo-rum selection clause.

  • In re Xura, Inc. Stockholder Litig.

    Publication Date: 2019-01-02
    Practice Area: Mergers and Acquisitions
    Industry: Investments and Investment Advisory | Technology Media and Telecom
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: A. Thompson Bayliss and David A. Seal, Abrams & Bayliss LLP, Wilmington, DE for plaintiff.
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Arthur R. Bookout, Matthew P. Majarian, and Haley S. Stern, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington DE; John L. Reed, Ethan H. Townsend, Peter H. Kyle, and Harrison S. Carpenter, DLA Piper LLP, Wilmington, DE for defendants.

    Case Number: D68407

    Objecting shareholder could maintain parallel appraisal and breach of fiduciary duty claims where breach claims were based on failure to disclose material facts and shareholder sought traditional remedies for breach of fiduciary duty, such as rescission or disgorgement, rather than a quasi-appraisal remedy.

  • Cumming v. Edens

    Publication Date: 2018-03-07
    Practice Area: Corporate Governance | Mergers and Acquisitions
    Industry: Health Care
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Jeffrey Gorris, Christopher Foulds, and Christopher Quinn, Friedlander & Gorris P.A., Wilmington, DE; David Wales, David MacIssac, and John Vielandi, Bernstein Litowtiz Berger & Grossman LLP, New York, NY; Adam Warden, Saxena White P.A., Boca Raton, FL; Steven B. Singer and Joshua H. Saltzman, Saxena White P.A., White Plains, NY; J. Elazar Fruchter, Wohl & Fruchter LLP, New York, NY, attorneys for plaintiff
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Ronald N. Brown, III, Sarah R. Martin, and Elisa M.C. Klein, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE, attorneys for defendants.

    Case Number: D68064

    Derivative complaint not dismissed where plaintiff pled facts of directors conflicts of interest with corporation on the other side of the challenged transaction supporting a reasonable doubt as to whether board was disinterested or independent, which constituted a non-exculpated claim.

  • du Pont v. Wilmington Trust Co.

    Publication Date: 2017-10-25
    Practice Area: Trusts and Estates
    Industry: Chemicals and Materials | Investments and Investment Advisory
    Court: Court of Chancery
    Judge: Vice Chancellor Slights
    Attorneys: For plaintiff: Matthew P. D'Emilio and Thomas A. Uebler, Cooch and Taylor, P.A., Wilmington, DE, attorneys for petitioner
    for defendant: Robert S. Saunders, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Wilmington, DE, attorney for respondent.

    Case Number: D67912

    Petition to remove trustee dismissed where friction caused by trustees exercise of discretion to deny permissive distributions did not constitute trustees unwillingness to serve or threaten its ability to administer the trust.