Main Menu

Showing 17 posts in Privilege.

Chancery Holds Plaintiffs’ Emails with Counsel on Defendants’ Server Are Privileged Due to Application of Argentine Law

By Jonathan G. Strauss, K. Tyler O'Connell on January 2, 2020
Posted In Discovery, Privilege

Lynch v. Gonzalez, C.A. No. 2019-0356-MTZ (Del. Ch. Nov. 18, 2019).

The plaintiff brought suit seeking confirmation that it validly acquired from defendants a majority ownership interest and the concomitant right to manage Grupo Belleville Holdings, LLC (the “Company”), a Delaware limited liability company. The discovery motion at-issue addresses the confidentiality of emails between Plaintiff and his counsel – complicated by the fact that they are stored by a server owned and operated by the defendants. To explain, the defendants had provided the Argentina-based Company and its employees, including the plaintiff, with email addresses for the purpose of executing their job duties. The email addresses and the server on which the emails were stored were not owned by the Company, however; rather, it was known to all involved that they belonged to a separate company of the Defendants. The emails at issue were between plaintiff Lynch and two in-house Company attorneys who also provided legal advice to him on personal matters, distinct from advice they provided him in his capacity as the Company’s manager. In discovery, Lynch sought to vindicate the privilege. He moved to compel the defendants to turn over the emails, but the defendants refused. More ›

Share

Court of Chancery Denies Director Access to Records in the Redstone-CBS Corp. Dispute

By Albert J. Carroll on July 17, 2018
Posted In Privilege

In re CBS Corporation, C.A. No. 2018-0342-AGB (Del. Ch. July 13, 2018)

It is well settled that members of the board of directors are entitled to essentially unfettered access to the corporation’s records to carry out their fiduciary duties.  But, as this decision illustrates, it could be a different story when it comes to privileged matters.  While directors generally are entitled to privileged records as well, should sufficient adversity exist between the director and the corporation on one or more issues, access may be denied for those issues.  This decision arising out of the highly-publicized power struggle at CBS involving the Redstone family and a proposed Viacom deal reviews and applies the precedent in this area to find the corporation properly withheld certain categories of records.

Share
Back to Page