Posts from June 2010

Court Of Chancery Awards Large Fee

Berger v Pubco Corp. ,C.A. 3414-CC (June 23, 2010)

This decision awards 26% of a large recovery to the prevailing attorneys.  If you are successful, then you will be well rewarded,  just as it should be.

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Court Of Chancery Enforces Settlement As Written

Cambridge North Point LLC v. Boston & Maine Corporation,  C.A. 3461-VCS (June 17, 2010)

This is another example of the Court of Chancery enforcing the contract the parties wrote despite one party's second thoughts. Saying that you did not read it does not help either.

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Chambers USA Names Nine Morris James Partners In Their 2010 Guide to Leading Business Lawyers

Morris James LLP is pleased to announce that nine of its partners have been ranked among the leading Delaware lawyers in the 2010 edition of Chambers USA:  America’s Leading Lawyers for Business - an increase of two rankings from last year.    In addition, four practice areas including Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Chancery, Intellectual Property and Employment Law were identified among the leading practices in Delaware.   The Morris James partners selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition are:

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

• Carl N. Kunz
• Stephen M. Miller

 Chancery

• Edward M. McNally
• Lewis H. Lazarus
• P. Clarkson Collins, Jr.

Intellectual Property

• Mary M. Matterer
• Richard K. Herrmann

Labor and Employment

• David H. Williams

Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use

• A. Kimberly Hoffman

Chambers & Partners is a highly respected and influential London-based research and publishing company that provides rankings of leading business lawyers and law firms throughout the world.  Rankings are based on technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by clients. 

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Court Of Chancery Sets Pleading Rule For Self Dealing Claim

Monroe County Employees' Retirement System v. Carlson, C.A. 4587-CC (June 7, 2010)

Because "self dealing" sounds so bad, sometimes a plaintiff thinks that all she needs to do is say those words in a complaint to state a claim.  Not so.  As this decision points out, self dealing may still be fair if the price is right.  Hence, to state a claim a complaint must state facts that show the deal was not fair.

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Court Of Chancery Sanctions Discovery Abuse

Monier Inc. v. Boral Lifetile, Inc., C.A. 3117-VCN (June 3, 2010)

When there is a failure to produce a relevant document in discovery,  the Court must decide what sanction to impose.  Here the Court declined to dismiss a case but awarded fees for the discoverey failure of a party.  The balancing of the failure and the penalty is interesting.

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Court Of Chancery Again Dismisses Late Books And Records Case

Baca v. Insight Enterprises. Inc., C.A. 5105-VCL (June 3, 2010)

Just as it did last month in the King case, the Court of Chancery has again dismissed a complaint for inspection of a company's books and records when that complaint was filed after a derivative suit was filed and is an effort to find a a basis to sustain the derivative case.

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