Delaware Court of Chancery Dismisses Derivative Challenge to The Trade Desk CEO’s Compensation Award Valued at $819 Million for Lack of Demand Futility

In re The Trade Desk, Inc. Derivative Litigation demonstrates the careful analysis the courts will engage in a Rule 23.1 demand futility challenge to assess both director independence and the likelihood of liability for the claims against the directors.

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Congress Must Resolve PSLRA Issue For Section 11 Litigants

Uncertainty in Section 11 securities litigation has grown following the Supreme Court’s Slack v. Pirani decision and ambiguities in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA). The PSLRA grants judgment reduction credits when outside directors settle, but its silence on other Section 11 defendants has created confusion that discourages fair and efficient settlements. Although courts often extend judgment reduction credits more broadly, inconsistent interpretations leave litigants uncertain. Amending the PSLRA to provide uniform rules would promote quicker, fairer resolutions and better serve its goal of curbing abusive securities litigation.

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California Supreme Court Holds Right to Jury Trial Does Not Bar Enforcement of a Delaware Forum Selection Clause

On July 21, 2025, the California Supreme Court issued a decision in EpicentRX v. Superior Court, reversing a decision by the California Fourth District Court of Appeal that declined to enforce a forum selection clause in a corporation’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws designating the Delaware Court of Chancery as the mandatory forum. As we reported at the time, the Court of Appeal concluded that because the Delaware Court of Chancery, as a court of equity, does not conduct jury trials, the forum selection clause in favor of the Delaware forum ran afoul of California’s “sacred” right to a jury trial and thus was unenforceable. In reversing, the California Supreme Court rejected this reasoning in its entirety, holding that “A forum selection clause is not unenforceable simply because it requires the parties to litigate in a jurisdiction that does not afford civil litigants the same right to trial by jury as litigants in California courts enjoy.” (more…)

How Three Years of the Universal Proxy Card Rules Have Changed Proxy Contests

On September 1, 2022, the SEC universal proxy card (UPC) rules took effect, allowing shareholders to freely “mix and match” from among management and dissident nominees in contested director elections. Before the rules’ adoption, their impact on shareholder activism was hotly debated, including in a comment letter to the SEC from our practice. Since they went into effect, judgments (even by us) have too often been anecdotal or based on limited data.

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2025 Proxy Season: Temporary Disruption Amid Structural Shifts in Shareholder Activism

Derek Zaba and Kai Liekefett, co-chairs of Sidley’s Shareholder Activism and Corporate Defense practice, discuss the 2025 proxy season and give a shareholder activism outlook for the second half of the year.

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What Happens With the Former Board, Stays With the Former Board: Delaware Court Dismisses Claims Against Directors for Failing to Investigate Past Misconduct

In a recent dismissal of all claims in Borsody v. Gibson, the Delaware Court of Chancery grappled with an unusual set of circumstances involving a former director who believed he had been wrongfully removed from a board and prevented from exercising his stock options. Having missed the window for asserting claims against the two officers who allegedly engaged in the wrongful scheme, he instead targeted two new directors who did not join the Board until after the scheme had already been completed.

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Gutterball Claims: Delaware Court Rejects Contract and Fraud Claims in the Face of Fair Disclosures

In a recent post-trial opinion in BBP Holdco, Inc. v. Brunswick Corporation, the Delaware Superior Court addressed an unusual M&A dispute. After a spin off of one of Brunswick’s bowling divisions, the buyers claimed that they had been defrauded not because Brunswick failed to disclose an ongoing regulatory issue, but because Brunswick allegedly failed to disclose enough about the issue, including how it might unfold in the future. The court soundly rejected this theory, holding that Brunswick fulfilled its obligation to fairly disclose the issue in sufficient detail for the buyers to perform their own independent investigation.

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Meet the Team

<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/stern-andrew-w">Andrew W. Stern</a>

Andrew W. Stern

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/n/newell-charlotte-k">Charlotte K. Newell</a>

Charlotte K. Newell

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/a/austin-elizabeth-y">Elizabeth Y. Austin</a>

Elizabeth Y. Austin

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/b/bartlett-jaime-a">Jaime A. Bartlett</a>

Jaime A. Bartlett

San Francisco
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/d/ducayet-james-w">Jim Ducayet</a>

Jim Ducayet

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/g/garcia-yolanda-c">Yolanda C. Garcia</a>

Yolanda C. Garcia

Dallas
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/h/heyworth-james">James Heyworth</a>

James Heyworth

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/k/kaplan-alex-j">Alex J. Kaplan</a>

Alex J. Kaplan

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/l/lopez-jodi-e">Jodi E. Lopez</a>

Jodi E. Lopez

Los Angeles

<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/m/muenz-jon">Jon Muenz</a>

Jon Muenz

New York
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/r/ross-ian-m">Ian M. Ross</a>

Ian M. Ross

Miami
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/sheppard-hille-r">Hille R. Sheppard</a>

Hille R. Sheppard

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/s/sultanian-heather">Heather Benzmiller Sultanian</a>

Heather Benzmiller Sultanian

Chicago
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/v/velevis-robert-s">Robert S. Velevis</a>

Robert S. Velevis

Dallas
<a target=‘_blank’ href="https://www.sidley.com/en/people/w/wechkin-robin-e">Robin E. Wechkin</a>

Robin E. Wechkin

Seattle

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