Beware “Lite” Reasoning: Delaware Vice Chancellor Refuses to Disturb Arbitration Ruling Despite Concerns About Flawed Reasoning and Outcome
A recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision offers an important lesson on the limits of court review of an arbitration award, particularly when parties forego a fully reasoned award. Even though Vice Chancellor Glasscock found that “[t]he arbitration proceeding and the resulting award [were] flawed,” the court refused to overturn the award that appeared to find a contractual nonparty jointly and severally liable for breaches of the representations and warranties in a purchase agreement. The risk parties sometimes take when they contract for arbitration, the court found, is “receiving an arbitral decision that is questionable under the law and facts, but that is nonetheless—not coming within the narrow window of judicial oversight—not reviewable.”
Delaware Chancery Court Clarifies What Constitutes a Sale of “Substantially All” Assets
In a recent decision, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Chancery Court examined what constitutes a sale of “substantially all” of a selling company’s assets for purposes of Section 271 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), granting a company’s motion to dismiss a stockholder’s lawsuit alleging that a sale of the “crown jewel” of the company amounted to a sale of substantially all of its assets and accordingly required stockholder approval. Altieri v. Alexy, No. 2021-0946-KSJM (Del. Ch. May 22, 2023).
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms That “and” Is a Word of Many Meanings
Last year we explained how a word as common as the conjunction “and” could be subject to different interpretations in a contract. See Grammarian’s Delight: It Depends On What The Meaning Of ‘And’ Is. The Delaware Supreme Court recently affirmed Vice-Chancellor Glasscock’s construction of the word “and” given the “range of possible interpretations” that courts have endorsed for the word—a good reminder for parties to exercise care when drafting agreements.
Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance: 2023 Year-in-Review
Sidley is pleased to share the March 2023 issue of Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance, a quarterly newsletter designed to keep you current on what we consider to be the most important legal developments involving M&A and corporate governance matters.
Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance: 2022 Year-in-Review
Each quarter, Sidley publishes Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance, a newsletter designed to capture what we consider the more significant legal developments in M&A, corporate governance, and related areas. As we begin a new year, Sidley would like to share as a resource for our readers a hyperlinked list of Sidley-authored articles that were included or referenced in the newsletter during 2022. The list, available here, serves as somewhat of a year-in-review covering the key developments in 2022.
Delaware Chancery Court Finds Scope of Restrictive Covenants Unreasonable in the Context of a Business Sale
A recent Delaware Chancery Court decision addressed whether a restrictive covenant agreement was enforceable against a defendant who entered into that agreement willingly (and who waived his right to contest its reasonableness) as part of a sale of a business. Kodiak Building Partners, LLC v. Adams (Del. Ch. Oct. 6, 2022). The court held that the restrictive covenants were unreasonable in their geographic scope and scope of restricted activities because they were broader than necessary to protect the acquirer’s legitimate economic interests. This decision provides lessons for lawyers seeking to draft clear, effective and enforceable restrictive covenant provisions.
Delaware Reminds LLCs: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
In In re: Dissolution of Doehler Dry Ingredient Solutions, LLC (Sept. 15, 2022), the Delaware Court of Chancery recently restated the high bar for a claim for judicial dissolution to succeed. Following his removal by written consent, a minority member and former manager of a Delaware limited liability company brought a claim for judicial dissolution of the entity. The former manager alleged that judicial dissolution was warranted due to alleged breaches of the company’s operating agreement, a potential voting deadlock on important matters, and alleged breaches of fiduciary duties.
Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance
Sidley is pleased to share the June 2022 issue of Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance, a quarterly newsletter designed to keep you current on what we consider to be the most important legal developments involving M&A and corporate governance matters. (more…)
Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance
Sidley is pleased to share the March 2022 issue of Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance, a quarterly newsletter designed to keep you current on what we consider to be the most important legal developments involving M&A and corporate governance matters. (more…)
Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance
Sidley is pleased to share the December 2021 issue of Sidley Perspectives on M&A and Corporate Governance, a quarterly newsletter designed to keep you current on what we consider to be the most important legal developments involving M&A and corporate governance matters. (more…)