Posts in Jurisdiction

Court Of Chancery Explains Long-Arm Jurisdiction Based On Creating A Subsidiary

The Dow Chemical Company v. Organik Kimya Holding A.S., C.A. No. 12090-VCG (Oct. 19, 2017)

Under the Papendick v. Bosch decision, incorporating an entity in Delaware may give rise to long-arm jurisdiction over the entity’s parent, even a foreign one with no other contacts with the State of Delaware. The act of incorporating in Delaware, however, must be an “integral component” of the alleged wrongdoing. This decision explains how to meet that test, which is heightened slightly after the plaintiff conducts jurisdictional discovery. The test was satisfied in this case based on allegations that the defendant, desiring to enter the U.S. market, misappropriated the plaintiff’s trade secrets and incorporated a Delaware entity to profit from the misappropriation.

Share

Court Of Chancery Addresses The Need For Legally-Distinct Co-Conspirators Under A Conspiracy Theory Of Jurisdiction

LVI Group Investments LLC v. NCM Group Holdings LLC, C.A. No. 12067-VCG (Sept. 7, 2017) More ›

Share

Court Of Chancery Explains Jurisdiction Based On Delaware Incorporation

Terramar Retail Centers LLC v. Marion #2-Seaport Trust, C.A. No. 12875-VCL (Aug. 18, 2017)

Merely incorporating a business in Delaware does not automatically subject you to personal jurisdiction in the Delaware courts. But, when the act of incorporation is part of the events forming the basis for a claim, it may be enough. This decision explains the parameters of jurisdiction based on incorporating in Delaware.

Share

Court Of Chancery Declines To Exercise Personal Jurisdiction Based On A Choice Of Law Provision In A Stockholders’ Agreement

EBP Lifestyle Brands Holdings Inc. v. Boulbain, C.A. No. 2017-0269-JRS (Aug. 4, 2017)

This decision holds that owning shares in a closely-held Delaware corporation and entering into a stockholders’ agreement containing a Delaware choice of law provision is not a sufficient basis, standing alone, for a Delaware court to exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-resident under Delaware’s long-arm statute. While these circumstances may be factors in the long-arm and due process analysis, more is required to purposefully avail oneself of Delaware law and be subject to personal jurisdiction in its courts.

Share

Court Of Chancery Rejects Jurisdiction Based On Contract Interpretation

Green v. Geico General Insurance Co., C.A. 9431-VCS (February 1, 2017)

As this decision explains, the Court of Chancery will not have jurisdiction based on the claim an injunction is needed to force a defendant to comply with the proper interpretation of a contract. Rather, the presumption is that once the Superior Court interprets the contract that the defendant will honor that judgment.

Share

Superior Court Interprets New Jurisdiction Statute

JCM Innovation Corp. v. FL Acquisition Holdings Inc., C.A. N15C-10-255-EMD-CCLD (September 30, 2016)

Delaware recently amended Section 111 of the DGCL to confer jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery over certain actions arising out of asset sales. The intent was not to divest Superior Court of jurisdiction when the dispute was not really over how to interpret a sale or merger agreement’s terms, an area of Chancery expertise, but more of a straightforward asset sale. This decision explains that distinction.

Share

Delaware Supreme Court Limits Jurisdiction Over Registered Corporations

Genuine Parts Company v. Cepec,  No. 528, 2015 (April 18, 2016)

Under Delaware law, an entity doing any business in Delaware must register to do so and thereby appoint a registered agent to receive process. For years this was held to confer general jurisdiction over that entity, even for claims that did not arise out of the business it did in Delaware. This decision reverses that old law and confines jurisdiction over non-Delaware entities to claims that arise out of what they have done in Delaware. Of course, there are still exceptions to that general rule, such as when an entity expressly agrees to jurisdiction in Delaware.

Share

Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Director/Officer Implied Consent Statute and Rejects Hana Ranch

Hazout v. Tsang Mun Ting, No. 353, 2015 (Del. February 26, 2016)

Rejecting the Court of Chancery’s narrow reading of the director/officer implied consent statute in Hana Ranch, Inc. v. Lent, 424 A.2d 28, 30 (Del. Ch. 1980), an interpretation that had been followed by lower courts for decades, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a non-resident officer sued in Delaware is subject to personal jurisdiction in actions brought “by or on behalf of, or against” the corporation if that officer “is a necessary or proper party” to the case, even if the case does not involve an alleged breach of the officer’s fiduciary or statutory duties. More ›

Share

Court Of Chancery Explains Section 205 Jurisdiction

Knoll Capital Management LP v. Advaxis Inc., C.A. 11417-VCN (January 29, 2016)

Under the fairly new provisions of Section 205 of the DGCL, the Court may validate certain “defective corporate acts,” including “any act or transaction purportedly taken by or on behalf of the corporation that is … within the power of a corporation …, but is void or voidable due to a failure of authorization.”  More ›

Share

Court Of Chancery Dismisses Case On Forum Grounds Against A Delaware Entity

VTB Bank v. Navitron Projects Corp, C.A. 8514-VCN (December 29, 2015)

This is the rare decision where a suit against a Delaware entity is dismissed on the basis that Delaware is a too inconvenient forum. When foreign law is both unclear and will establish the basis for any relief, a foreign plaintiff may find it hard to sue in Delaware unless the suit contains the allegation that the very formation of the Delaware entity is part of the alleged wrong.

Share

Court Of Chancery Explains When To Uphold Delaware As A Forum

Pipal Tech Ventures Private Ltd. v. Moengage Inc., C.A. 10381-VCG (December 17, 2015)

This decision applies Delaware’s forum non conveniens law to a suit against a Delaware corporation arising out of events in India. The analysis is helpful for other cases because it deals with all the various factors to be considered, such as availability of discovery in a foreign country.  As a result, it is a precedent for upholding jurisdiction over a Delaware entity is proper even if the events occurred far away.

Share

Court Of Chancery Explains Jurisdiction For Veil-Piercing

Doberstein v G-P Industries Inc., C.A. 9995-VCP (October 30, 2015)

This is an interesting decision for its discussion on what must be pled to obtain Chancery jurisdiction in a claim seeking to pierce the corporate veil. It is not enough to just allege the entity was used to defraud. Rather, the complaint must meet the more exacting standards set out in this opinion.

Share

Court Of Chancery Explains Jurisdiction

Mirosoft Corporation v. Patent Revenue Partners LLC, C.A. 8092-VCP (October 15, 2015)

It is often assumed that merely by registering an entity in Delaware as part of a business transaction that you have become subject to the jurisdiction of the Delaware courts. But as this decision points out, that is not as simple as you might think. More ›

Share

Court of Chancery Explains Jurisdiction Despite Declaratory Judgment

Doe v. Coupe,  C.A. No. 10983-VCP (July 14, 2015)

It is often contended that the availability of a declaratory judgment in Superior Court to determine the parties’ rights may deprive the Court of Chancery of jurisdiction to grant an equitable remedy such as an injunction. After all, it is assumed that the parties will obey the decision of the Court in deciding their rights. More ›

Share

Court Of Chancery Interprets Forum Selection Clause

Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB v. Caesars Entertainment Corporation, C.A. 10004-VCG (March 18, 2015) This is an interesting decision because it holds that a forum selection clause must be "clear and unambiguous" before it will be held to provide an exclusive forum for all disputes. Clauses that just refer to specific types of disputes, such as contract disputes, will then not control where other disputes may be filed.

Share