Delaware Docket – Page 39 – Timely, brief summaries of cases handed down by the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court.

Dell Inc. Fails to Persuade Court That Merger Price was Best Evidence of its Fair Value

Jun 21 2016

In In Re Appraisal of Dell, C.A. No. 9322-VCL, (Del. Ch. May 31, 2016), stockholders of Dell Inc. (“Dell”) sought appraisal of their shares in connection with Dell’s 2013 “go-private” merger. Vice Chancellor Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the fair value of the Dell’s common stock at the effective time of the merger was $17.62, approximately a 28% premium over the final merger consideration of $13.75 per share. In making its determination, the court rejected Dell’s contention that the negotiated merger consideration was the best evidence of Dell’s fair value and held that the Dell was sold for too little and that the concept of fair value under Delaware law is not equivalent to the economic concept of fair market value.

Delaware Chancery Court Expands on Dissenter Requirement under DGCL Section 262

Jun 21 2016

By: Naomi R. Ogan and Stephanie S. Liu

In In re Appraisal of Dell Inc., C.A. No. 9322-VCL, (Del. Ch. May 11, 2016), the Delaware Court of Chancery held that the shares held by fourteen mutual funds through a sponsor or institutions that relied on such parties to direct the voting of their shares (collectively, the “Petitioners”) did not qualify for appraisal in connection with Dell Inc.’s go-private merger because the dissenter requirement under the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) was not met as the shares were voted in favor of the merger.

Chancery Court Reaffirms Arbitrability to be Decided by Arbitrator if Claims are Not Frivolous on their Face

Jun 15 2016

By: Scott E. Waxman and Douglas Logan

In Angus v. Ajio, the Delaware Court of Chancery denied Bruce Angus’ preliminary injunction to block arbitration initiated by Members of MoGo Sport, LLC (“MoGo”), a Delaware sports equipment and injury prevention company organized as a Delaware limited liability company. The court held that the arbitrability of the claims in the arbitration demand must be decided by the arbitrator and not the court if the party opposing arbitration cannot show the arbitration demand to be frivolous.

Conflict Transaction Cleansed By Master Limited Partnership’s Special Committee

Jun 15 2016

By Scott E. Waxman and Annamarie C. Larson

In Employees Retirement System of the City of St. Louis v. TC Pipelines GP, Inc., et al, (C.A. No. 11603-VCG), Vice Chancellor Glasscock granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss claims relating to the purchase of pipeline assets from the general partner’s parent. The Court of Chancery held that the transaction was “fair and reasonable” to the master limited partnership because it was approved by a special committee and that the general partner did not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. In this case, the Court of Chancery reaffirmed parties’ abilities to contract freely when forming alternative entities such as a master limited partnership and confirmed that judicial review of such contractual terms is very limited.

Court of Chancery, Applying Arkansas Law, Precludes Re-Litigation of Demand Futility Issue in the Context of a Derivative Suit Brought by Different Stockholder Plaintiffs

Jun 15 2016

By Josh Gaul and H. Corinne Smith

In In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., C.A. No. 7455-CB (Del Ch. May 13, 2016), the Court of Chancery, applying Arkansas law, held that issue preclusion applies to different stockholder plaintiffs in the context of a derivative suit and, therefore, that the Arkansas district court’s holding that demand was not futile precludes re-litigation of the issue in the Delaware court system.

Chancery Court Dismisses Derivative Claims Alleging Breach of Fiduciary Duty in Connection with the Vesting of a Former Director’s Equity Compensation

Apr 18 2016

By: Naomi R. Ogan and H. Corinne Smith

In Friedman v. Maffei, et al, C.A. No. 11105-VCMR (Del. Ch. Apr. 13, 2016), the Court of Chancery dismissed derivative claims brought by Julie Friedman on behalf of TripAdvisor, Inc. (“TripAdvisor”) concerning the vesting of 200,000 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) of Expedia stock belonging to Dara Khosrowshahi, a former TripAdvisor director and current CEO of Expedia, Inc. (“Expedia”). In considering defendants’ motion to dismiss, the court concluded that Friedman failed to plead particularized facts that raise a reasonable doubt that the TripAdvisor board (the “Board”) validly exercised its business judgment in refusing her demand. Because the plaintiff could not show the Board wrongfully refused her demand, the court granted the motion to dismiss.

Delaware Chancery Court Awards Advancement of Fees in Connection with Post-Merger Indemnification Claims

Apr 12 2016

By: Scott E. Waxman and Sophia Lee Shin

In Joel Z. Hyatt and Albert A. Gore, Jr. v. Al Jazeera America Holdings II, LLC and Al Jazeera International (USA) Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery reviewed a motion for summary judgment in connection with a dispute regarding the advancement of fees for the litigation of various post-merger indemnification claims. The Chancery Court held that the plaintiffs were entitled to advancement for certain claims, but not for others, depending on whether the underlying facts of each claim required the plaintiffs to defend their actions as former officers or directors.

CHANCERY COURT REAFFIRMS THE ABILITY OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS TO CONTRACT AROUND FIDUCIARY DUTIES

Apr 05 2016

By: Scott Waxman and Tony Brown

In Adrian Dieckman v. Regency GP LP, C.A. No. 11130-CB (Del. Ch. Mar. 29, 2016), the Court of Chancery held that a limited partnership agreement can extinguish the common law duty of disclosure that exists under Delaware law. Where a limited partnership agreement expressly eliminated fiduciary duties and replaced them with an alternative contractual governance scheme, the court declined to reinsert a duty of disclosure and determined that additional disclosure obligations are not compelled by the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Chancery Court Finds Non-Reliance Language Insufficient to Bar Extra-Contractual Fraud Claims

Mar 23 2016

By Lisa Stark and Mark Hammes

In FdG Logistics v. A&R Logistics, C.A. No. 9706-CB (Del. Ch. Feb. 23, 2016), the Court of Chancery held that a non-reliance provision contained in a merger agreement was ineffective to bar a buyer’s fraud claims based on extra-contractual statements made during the due diligence and negotiation process because the non-reliance provision was formulated solely as a limitation on the seller’s representations and warranties. According to the Court, for a non-reliance provision to be effective against a buyer, it must be formulated as an affirmative promise by the buyer that it did not rely on any extra-contractual statements made by the seller during the sales process. The decision clarifies the Court of Chancery’s 2015 decision in Prairie Capital III, L.P. v. Double E Holding Corp., C.A. No. 10127-VCL (Del. Ch. Nov. 24, 2015) in which the Court emphasized that “no magic words” are required for a non-reliance provision to be effective.

Chancery Court Grants in Part and Denies in Part a Motion to Dismiss in Fraud and Earnout Dispute

Mar 22 2016

By: Jamie Bruce and John Sun

In Haney v. Blackhawk, C.A. No. 10851-VCN (Del. Ch. Feb. 26, 2016), the Delaware Court of Chancery granted in part and denied in part Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc.’s (“Blackhawk”) motion to dismiss certain claims brought by Greg Haney (“Haney”) in his capacity as representative of the selling stockholders of CardLab, Inc. (“CardLab”). Haney brought claims against Blackhawk in connection with Blackhawk’s acquisition of CardLab in 2014 including, inter alia, for fraudulent inducement and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.