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Delaware
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September 09, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware's Court of Chancery made some expensive decisions last week, ranging from a $130 million stockholder award and a freeze on $450 million in equity financing to a whopping $1 billion bill for fraud and breach of contract damages. New cases aimed at Virgin Galactic, settlements pulled in Hemisphere Media Group Inc. and court hearings involving Apollo Global Management heated up. In case you missed it, here's the roundup of news from Delaware's Court of Chancery.
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September 09, 2024
Apollo-Backed Software Company Edgio Hits Ch. 11
Digital content delivery platform Edgio Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, listing $379 million in assets and $369 million in liabilities and with a plan to sell its assets to a major lender.
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September 09, 2024
Automotive Co. Wheel Pros Hits Ch. 11 With Over $1B In Debt
Clearlake Capital-backed automotive wheel company Wheel Pros LLC has filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court with $1.746 billion in debt and a reorganization plan to hand control of the company to senior lenders.
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September 09, 2024
Bargain Retailer Big Lots Hits Ch. 11 With Sale In Sights
Discount retail chain Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday in Delaware with $556 million of secured debt and plans to shutter more than 300 stores while it works to complete a $620 million deal to sell the rest of its business as a going concern.
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September 06, 2024
AstraZeneca Unit Owes $130M In Chancery Scuttled-Drug Suit
The Delaware Chancery Court awarded $130 million to former shareholders of biopharmaceutical company Syntimmune in their breach of contract fight against AstraZeneca PLC unit Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., finding that Alexion failed to make promised payments after it acquired Syntimmune in 2018 and breached key terms of their merger agreement.
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September 06, 2024
Biopharm Co., Directors Sued In Del. Over 'Extreme' Scheme
A five-year run of "extreme and unconscionable self-dealing" has left 62% of Navidea BioPharmaceuticals Inc. equity in the hands of a single stockholder-director, a Delaware Court of Chancery suit has alleged, with the company now deregistered and currently without a viable product.
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September 06, 2024
3rd Circ. Follows Corner Post In Home Care OT Change Feud
Three home care companies' challenge to an Obama-era rule expanding overtime eligibility for certain workers is back on track, the Third Circuit ruled Friday, saying that the U.S. Supreme Court's Corner Post decision mooted a Pennsylvania federal court's ruling that the entities' suit was late.
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September 06, 2024
Cleveland-Cliffs Faces Trial Over Mining Co.'s Antitrust Claims
A Delaware bankruptcy court has partially allowed claims accusing steelmaking giant Cleveland-Cliffs of engaging in anticompetitive behavior that harmed a mining venture's efforts to complete an iron mine and ore plant in northern Minnesota to go to trial by a jury in federal court.
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September 06, 2024
Judge Barnard Says It's 'About Time' For Texas Biz Court
Law360 recently talked with Judge Marialyn Barnard, who transitioned this month from the 73rd District Court to Texas Business Court, about the newly created court.
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September 05, 2024
Texas Could Be Next Delaware, Attys Say As Biz Court Opens
Law firms have been preparing for the upcoming Texas Business Court since the state announced that it wanted to compete with the Delaware Court of Chancery, but many have adopted a wait-and-see approach to the Lone Star State's newest venue, which opened for cases this week.
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September 05, 2024
Class Attys Vie To Lead Drug Co. Insider Trading Suit In Del.
A courtroom face-off over lead stockholder counsel duties in a Delaware Chancery Court case accusing a biopharmaceutical company's directors of insider trading and fiduciary duty breaches got edgy Thursday, after one of the plaintiff-side legal teams contended that the other's case was irreparably hobbled by conflicts of interest.
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September 05, 2024
Lupin Infringes Exeltis Contraceptive Patents, Judge Finds
Mumbai-based generic-pharmaceuticals company Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. has infringed five patents of the estrogen-free contraceptive Slynd, a Delaware federal judge said Wednesday, finding in favor of Spanish pharmaceutical company Insud Pharma and its New Jersey-based division Exeltis USA Inc. on all asserted claims.
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September 05, 2024
3rd Circ. Relieves Insurer Of Additional UIM Coverage
The Third Circuit reversed an early win a lower court handed to a couple whose son suffered serious injuries in a motorized dirt bike accident, finding that the couple's insurer needn't pay an additional $250,000 under another household policy because of the policy's household vehicle exclusion.
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September 05, 2024
Split 3rd Circ. Won't Rule Out Pa. As Wiretapping Suit Forum
The Third Circuit ruled in a precedential opinion Thursday that a lower court must reconsider if Pennsylvania consumers can sue for privacy violations caused by session replay software, reviving a portion of consolidated wiretapping class claims over activity tracking on websites for companies including Papa John's and Mattress Firm.
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September 05, 2024
Chancery Presses Pause On $450M Bolt Financial Financing
Affiliates of multinational investors Hedosophia and BlackRock have won a Delaware Court of Chancery pause of a purported Bolt Financial Inc. $450 million equity financing that would eliminate and replace all the company's preferred stock while returning founder Ryan Breslow to his CEO seat.
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September 05, 2024
Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty To Tax Charges In Surprise Move
Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea to nine criminal tax charges in California federal court on Thursday, bringing a dramatic conclusion to the case following a dizzying series of events on what was set to be the first day of his trial.
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September 04, 2024
Virgin Galactic Investor Says Branson, Brass Hid Safety Risks
A Virgin Galactic stockholder sued the aerospace and space tourism company's founder Richard Branson and top executives in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging the billionaire profited by selling off equity at an inflated price while failing to publicly disclose his knowledge of purportedly pervasive safety issues.
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September 04, 2024
Bid To Nix Expert Fails As Fed. Circ. OKs $2.3M Patent Verdict
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $2.3 million patent verdict against dental imaging device maker Planmeca USA Inc., rejecting the company's argument that plaintiff Osseo Imaging LLC's technical expert was not qualified because his experience came after the invention.
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September 04, 2024
AI Co. Keeps Engine Supplier In Trade Secrets Suit
An artificial intelligence software developer can continue pursuing a case seeking at least $500 million in Delaware state court from an engine manufacturer over claims that it misappropriated its trade secrets after canceling a deal they had to develop an AI tool.
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September 04, 2024
3rd Circ. Revives Machinery Worker's Disability Bias Suit
The Third Circuit reopened a former machinery worker's lawsuit alleging he was fired because he requested light-duty assignments following an on-the-job back injury, saying Wednesday a trial court used an outdated standard to conclude that federal law didn't consider his temporary pain a disability.
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September 04, 2024
Apollo Defends $570M Controller Deal In Chancery Suit
An attorney for Apollo Global Management Inc. pushed back Wednesday in Delaware's Court of Chancery on stockholder claims that former company chairman and former CEO Leon Black and two others dominated the business in the runup to a $570 million payout to the three insiders in 2021.
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September 04, 2024
Fintech Investor Tries To Undo 'Formulistic' Nix Of NCino Suit
A pension fund invested in financial technology company nCino Inc. urged Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive its suit against company directors and investment firm Insight Venture Partners over a $1.2 billion acquisition, arguing the Chancery Court "missed the mosaic for the tiles" by dismissing the case.
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September 04, 2024
NLRB Says Deference Not Needed In Solo Protest Case
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision abandoning its long-standing deference to administrative agencies should not affect the Third Circuit's review of a National Labor Relations Board order broadening when individual employees engage in protected actions, the agency argued in a brief to the appeals court.
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September 04, 2024
Election Year Surprise? GOP Judges Opening Seats For Biden
Well ahead of fall elections that could flip the White House and U.S. Senate to Republicans, many GOP-appointed judges are retiring and giving Democrats opportunities to fill key seats before Republicans can capitalize on any wins at the polls, and several of the judges discussed the political backdrop with Law360.
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September 04, 2024
J&J Hit With $1B Damages In Del. Merger Milestone Fight
Johnson & Johnson owes more than $1 billion to a medical robotics developer and entrepreneur caught up in a multibillion-dollar post-acquisition dispute, a Delaware vice chancellor ruled Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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Parsing Controversial Del. General Corporation Law Proposals
In response to issues raised in three recent high-profile Delaware Court of Chancery decisions, many amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law were quickly proposed that, if enacted, would bring significant changes likely to be hotly debated — and litigated — for the foreseeable future, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Perspectives
Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Opinion
Del. Needs To Urgently Pass Post-Moelis Corporate Law Bill
After the Delaware Chancery Court's decision in West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension v. Moelis sparked confusion around governance rights, recently proposed amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law would preserve the state's predictable corporate governance system, says Lawrence Hamermesh at Widener University Delaware Law School.
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Series
Playing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My deep and passionate involvement in playing, writing and producing music equipped me with skills — like creativity, improvisation and problem-solving — that contribute to the success of my legal career, says attorney Kenneth Greene.
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3rd Circ.'s Geico Ruling May Encourage Healthcare Arbitration
The Third Circuit's recent decision in Geico v. Mount Prospect, finding that claims under New Jersey's Insurance Fraud Prevention Act can be arbitrated, strengthens arbitration as a viable alternative to litigation, even though it is not necessarily always a more favorable forum, say Khaled Klele and Jessica Osterlof at McCarter & English.
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How Attys Can Avoid Pitfalls When Withdrawing From A Case
The Trump campaign's recent scuffle over its bid to replace its counsel in a pregnancy retaliation suit offers a chance to remind attorneys that many troubles inherent in withdrawing from a case can be mitigated or entirely avoided by communicating with clients openly and frequently, says Christopher Konneker at Orsinger Nelson.
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Using A Children's Book Approach In Firm Marketing Content
From “The Giving Tree” to “Where the Wild Things Are,” most children’s books are easy to remember because they use simple words and numbers to tell stories with a human impact — a formula law firms should emulate in their marketing content to stay front of mind for potential clients, says Seema Desai Maglio at The Found Word.
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The State Of Play In DEI And ESG 1 Year After Harvard Ruling
Almost a year after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, attorney general scrutiny of environmental, social and governance-related efforts indicates a potential path for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to be targeted, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Key Lessons From Recent Insurance Policy Reform Litigation
A review of recent case law reveals the wide range of misunderstandings that may arise between insurers and policyholders in the purchase and renewal of insurance policies, as well as the utility — and the limits — of reformation and related remedies for these misunderstandings, say Jad Khazem and Seth Tucker at Covington.
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Patent Lessons From 4 Federal Circuit Reversals In April
Four Federal Circuit decisions in April that reversed or vacated underlying rulings provide a number of takeaways, including that obviousness analysis requires a flexible approach, that an invalidity issue of an expired patent can be moot, and more, say Denise De Mory and Li Guo at Bunsow De Mory.
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2nd Circ. Ruling Affirms NY Law's Creditor-Friendly Approach
The Second Circuit’s recent ruling in 245 Park Member v. HNA International provides creditors with some reason for optimism that debtors in New York may face rejection in court for aiming to keep creditors at arm’s length by transferring personal assets into an LLC, says Jeff Newton at Omni Bridgeway.
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What The FTC Report On AG Collabs Means For Cos.
The Federal Trade Commission's April report on working with state attorneys general shows collaboration can increase efficiency and consistency in how statutes are interpreted and enforced, which can minimize the likelihood of requests for inconsistent injunctive relief that can create operational problems for businesses, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.