On May 14, 2015, in a landmark ruling with important implications for the potential liabilities of independent directors of companies involved in M&A transactions, the Delaware Supreme Court held that in order to state a claim for damages against directors of a company that has an exculpatory provision in its corporate charter, a plaintiff must
Cornerstone Releases 2013 Study of M&A Lawsuit Settlements
Only two percent of M&A lawsuit that settled in 2013 involved a monetary payment to shareholders, according to the latest report on M&A lawsuit settlements from Cornerstone Research. The report, entitled “Settlements in Shareholder Litigation Involving Mergers and Acquisitions: Review of 2013 M&A Litigation” (here), is the second part of a two-part series
Cornerstone Research Releases 2013 M&A Litigation Study
Mergers and acquisition activity continued to attract litigation in connection with virtually every transaction during 2013, and for the first time during 2013 the litigation filing rates for smaller transactions was as great as for larger transactions, according to a study recently released by Cornerstone Research. The study, entitled “Shareholder Litigation Involving Mergers and Acquisitions:
M&A Litigation Loss Prevention and Other Web Notes
As I detailed in recent blog posts (here and here), these days virtually every public company M&A transaction is likely to involve M&A-related litigation. For that reason, M&A litigation represents a significant liability exposure for directors and officers of the companies involved in the M&A transaction and they have a keen interest in
Cornerstone Research Releases 2012 M&A Litigation Report
Plaintiff law firms continued to file lawsuits in connection with virtually every mergers and acquisitions transaction in 2012, according to an updated report from Cornerstone Research. The February 2013 report, which is entitled “Shareholder Litigation Involving Mergers and Acquistions” and which was authored by Robert M. Daines of Stanford Law School and Olga Koumrian of
Takeover Litigation in 2012
Litigation related to M&A activity continued at an “extremely high rate” in 2012, according to the latest research update from Ohio State law professor Steven Davidoff and Notre Dame business professor Matthew Cain. According to the professors’ analysis, presented in their February 1, 2013 paper entitled “Takeover Litigation in 2012” (here), 91.7% of
Guest Post: Courts Reject Fee Awards in Non-Cash Class Settlements
In the following guest post, Kara Altenbaumer-Price (pictured) takes a look at two recent case decisions in which courts have declined attorneys’ fee awards in connection with non-cash class settlements. Kara is the Management & Professional Liability Counsel for insurance broker USI.
Many thanks to Kara for her willingness to publish her article here.
The Other Kind of Merger-Related Litigation
Much has been written recently (including on this blog) about the growing prevalence of M&A related litigation. These lawsuits, typically launched by the target company shareholders, are filed shortly after a merger announcement and usually object to some aspect of the proposed merger or of the merger-related disclosure. But the merger objection lawsuit is not
Takeover Litigation in 2011
In their paper “A Great Game: The Dynamics of State Competition and Litigation” (here), Ohio State Law Professor Steven Davidoff and Notre Dame Finance Professor Matthew Cain analyzed the M&A related litigation during the period 2005 to 2010. I discussed this article in a prior post, here. In a newly released February
All the M&A-Related Litigation Reference Material in One Convenient Location
During last week’s PLUS D&O Symposium, several of the panels discussed the problems surrounding the current onslaught of M&A-related litigation – and appropriately so, as the surging levels of M&A litigation is one of the most distinct and troubling current litigation trends. During the course of the discussion at the conference, several of the