Cut Off from Books and Records: Vice Chancellor Holds Termination of Ownership Rights by Merger Extinguishes Stockholder Standing to Bring Section 220 Action
Weingarten v. Monster Worldwide, Inc., C.A. No. 12931-VCG (Del. Ch. Feb. 27, 2017)
By Joanna Diakos Kordalis and Max E. Kaplan
By memorandum-opinion dated February 27, 2017, Vice Chancellor Glasscock dismissed plaintiff’s Verified Complaint to Compel Inspection of Books and Records in Weingarten v. Monster Worldwide, Inc. after finding plaintiff lacked standing to bring such a claim. Specifically, the Court held that, under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, only a current stockholder may bring an action to redress the denial of access to a corporation’s books and records, even if the plaintiff had been a stockholder when initially demanding access.