Photo of Kevin LaCroix

Kevin M. LaCroix is an attorney and Executive Vice President, RT ProExec, a division of RT Specialty. RT ProExec is an insurance intermediary focused exclusively on management liability issues.

In late March, Delaware enacted S.B. 21, legislation calculated to encourage companies to incorporate in the state, and to stay in the stay, rather than incorporating or reincorporating elsewhere. The bill included measures that could affect corporate litigation in Delaware in ways that may undercut litigation efforts of shareholders (and their lawyers). The plaintiffs’ lawyers apparently are prepared to fight back.

Earlier this week, in a new lawsuit involving Acushnet Holdings Corp., plaintiffs’ lawyers filed a Delaware Chancery Court complaint that, among other things, challenges the constitutionality of S.B. 21. This new suit joins earlier litigation previously filed also challenging S.B. 21’s constitutionality, as discussed below.  A copy of the latest complaint, filed in Chancery Court on May 5, 2025, can be found here. (Hat tip to Anthony Rickey, of Margrave Law LLC, who posted the complaint in a LinkedIn post, here.)Continue Reading Claimants Challenge S.B. 21 Constitutionality

As I noted in a recent post (here), even though we are now more than five years past the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., companies continue to be hit with securities class action lawsuits alleging that the lingering effects of the pandemic’s disruption continue to affect their operations and financial results. The latest COVID-related securities lawsuit example provides an interesting variant on the typical allegations. The complaint in a new securities suit against pharma supply company West Pharmaceutical Services alleges not that the company failed to disclose the full impact of the pandemic on its operations and financial results, but rather that the company’s reports about the pandemic’s pervasive disruption masked other undisclosed customer losses.  A copy of the complaint against West can be found here.  Continue Reading Pharma Supply Company Hit with COVID-Related Securities Suit

Sarah Abrams

One of the current hot topics is corporate and securities law is whether Delaware companies should reincorporate in other states, particularly in the states of Nevada or Texas. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, examines the state of incorporation of the new Texas Stock Exchange, which, surprisingly, turns out to be Delaware. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this blog’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: The TXSE is Domiciled in Delaware

Even before the start of the new Trump administration, corporate DEI initiatives faced increasing scrutiny. With the new administration, DEI initiatives face even greater scrutiny. Following Trump’s January inauguration, the President and the Attorney General declared that the new administration intends to target what they have called “illegal DEI.” The administration’s approach creates regulatory and enforcement risks for companies and their executives with respect to DEI issues. And as detailed in a recent law firm memo, these developments could also give rise to increased corporate and securities litigation risks as well, as discussed below. The Winston and Strawn law firm’s April 28, 2025, memo entitled “Securities Litigation Risk in the Evolving DEI Landscape” can be found here.Continue Reading Corporate and Securities Litigation Risk in the New DEI Environment

Sarah Abrams

In the wake of the SPAC IPO frenzy in 2021, SPAC activity cratered. However, as detailed in the following guest post from Sarah Abrams, there are signs that SPAC IPOs may be making a comeback, a revival that may raise certain concerns. Sarah is Head of Claims, Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: SPACs are Back

There is no doubt that sentiment toward ESG initiatives has shifted – in the U.S. and elsewhere. For starters, the SEC recently voted to withdraw its court defense of its own climate change disclosure guidelines. The ESG pullback has also reached Europe, as, in February 2025, the European Commission proposed an omnibus package of measures to simplify and streamline the EU’s ESG reporting requirements, as discussed here. More recently, and as discussed below, the European Parliament earlier this month voted to delay key EU ESG reporting requirements for two years, to allow more time for EU politicians to negotiate further changes to the union’s sustainability reporting rules. An April 3, 2025, Reuters article discussing the European Parliament’s vote can be found here.Continue Reading European Parliament Votes to Delay EU Sustainability Reporting Requirements

It has now been over five years since the initial COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. in March 2020, but the pandemic’s disruptive effects continue reverberate through the economy. In a newly filed securities lawsuit against auto rental company Avis Budget Group, investors claim that the company concealed an auto fleet-related business move that the company made because of earlier pandemic-caused supply chain disruptions. The new lawsuit’s allegations show how the pandemic’s lingering effects continue to influence companies’ decisions and actions – and lead to litigation. A copy of the April 25, 2025 lawsuit can be found here.Continue Reading Lingering COVID Effects Drive Securities Suit Against AVIS

Sarah Abrams

Workplace utilization of artificial intelligence-enhanced tools, including AI-based Large Language Models, is becoming pervasive. But could employee use of AI tools potentially lead to executive liability? That is the question addressed in this guest post, from Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty. I would like to thank Sarah for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article.Continue Reading Guest Post: Does Employee Use of AI at Work Create Executive Risk?

Earlier this month, when President Trump announced comprehensive tariffs, I speculated about whether or not the administration’s new tariff policy could create an environment that could lead to legal claims against some companies and their directors and offices. While I anticipated (and continue to anticipate) the possibility that there will be tariff-related D&O claims, one possibility I had not considered is the prospect that the new U.S. tariff regime could lead to increased number of tariff-related False Claims Act claims.

In an interesting April 16, 2025, memo, the Nixon Peabody law firm explains how “evasion of tariff requirements, including via false representation of countries of origin and undervaluation or misclassification of goods, creates the risk of substantial liability under the False Claims Act.” The law firm’s memo can be found here. (Hat Tip: John Jenkins of The CorporateCounsel.net Blog, who linked to the law firm memo in his April 23, 2025, post on the blog.)Continue Reading Trump’s Tariffs and the Risk of False Claims Act Liability

Sarah Abrams

Recent reports have brought to light the disturbing story that many companies may have unwittingly hired North Korean operatives as outsourced IT professionals. In the following guest post, Sarah Abrams, Head of Claims Baleen Specialty, a division of Bowhead Specialty, considers the potential claims exposure that could arise for companies that have hired the North Korean operatives. I would like to thank Sarah Abrams for allowing me to publish her article as a guest post on this site. I welcome guest post submissions from responsible authors on topics of interest to this site’s readers. Please contact me directly if you would like to submit a guest post. Here is Sarah’s article. Continue Reading Guest Post: North Korean Hiring Exposure