Posts in Receiverships

Chancery Denies Motion Seeking Appointment of a Receiver

Bighorn Ventures Nevada LLC v. Solis, C.A. No. 2022-1116-LWW (Del. Ch. Dec. 23, 2022)
The Court of Chancery has the discretion to appoint a custodian or receiver under Section 226(a)(2) of the DGCL when the board of directors is deadlocked, the business is suffering or is threatened with irreparable injury because of the deadlock, and the shareholders are unable to terminate the deadlock. Under Section 291, the Court has the discretion to appoint a receiver when the corporation is insolvent and special circumstances indicate some beneficial purpose will be served. More ›

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Chancery Requires Fuller Disclosure for Receiver Appointment

In re VBR Agency LLC, C.A. No. 2022-0328-JTL (Del. Ch. Apr. 20, 2022)
Petitioners often call upon the Court of Chancery to appoint receivers to settle a company’s business. As this decision describes, “[i]n recent years, the members of the court have been forced to address actions taken by custodians or receivers who obtained appointments on … scant records. In some of those situations, the custodian or receiver has taken action that caused the court to question whether the appointment should have been made, or the court has learned information that might have caused the court to decline to make the appointment in the first instance. … Delaware has a significant interest in ensuring that questionable individuals do not use judicial proceedings to gain control over Delaware entities. Delaware likewise has an interest in ensuring that its entities are not used as vehicles for improper schemes.” Here, considering these concerns, the Court declined to make an appointment, first requiring additional information beyond that in the petition. The petitioner sought an appointment allegedly for the purpose of litigation involving a defunct LLC. The Court viewed as material additional information regarding the regulatory or legal histories of the receiver and any affiliates, as well as the receiver’s specific plans for the LLC beyond the general purposes stated in the petition.

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Chancery Upholds Claim for the Appointment of a Receiver

Zaslansky v. FZ Holdings, C.A. No. 2021-0168-KSJM (Del. Ch. Feb. 8, 2022)
This order denying a motion to dismiss addresses the circumstances in which the Court of Chancery may appoint a receiver for an allegedly insolvent corporation under 8 Del. C. § 291. In determining whether to grant a petition to appoint a receiver for an insolvent corporation, the Court must determine whether the corporation is insolvent and whether the appointment of a neutral third party is necessary to protect the insolvent corporation’s creditors or shareholders. Here, the company had negative income, the petitioners alleged that the company commingled personal debt with company debt, and that the company selectively repaid some allegedly affiliated creditors without paying others, all making it reasonably conceivable that the facts may support a receiver appointment.

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Chancery Explains Standards of Review for Receiver Determinations and Shifts Fees and Expenses in Dissolution

In re Dissolution of Jeffco Management, LLC, C.A. No. 2018-0027-PAF (Del. Ch. Aug. 16, 2021)
When the Court of Chancery appoints a receiver to effectuate a company’s dissolution, certain determinations are subject to de novo review and others are given a more deferential review depending on the nature of each determination. Here, the court appointed a receiver to effectuate the relevant LLC’s dissolution based on a deadlock between the two members. Upon review of the record, the receiver found that one of the members had a negative capital account balance and decided to distribute the company’s assets in-kind to the other member with a positive capital account balance. The member with the negative account balance challenged that decision based on various objections.  More ›

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Chancery Defers to Liquidating Trustee in Approving a Sale of LLC Assets

Acela Invs. LLC v. DiFalco, C.A. No. 2018-0558-AGB (Del. Ch. Apr. 27, 2020).  

This case affirms that, absent an abuse of discretion, the Court of Chancery will defer to a sale agreement proffered and negotiated by a Court-appointed liquidating trustee. In this case, the Court had appointed the liquidating trustee (the “Trustee”) after granting judicial dissolution of a Delaware LLC due to member deadlock. At the last minute, and following a six-month sale process, a bidder that was owned by two of the LLC’s members made an offer that the Trustee rejected as untimely and inadequate. The bidder challenged the Trustee’s judgment in rejecting its bid. The Court upheld the Trustee’s decision to reject the bid, finding no evidence of an abuse of discretion.   More ›

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Delaware Supreme Court Finds Limited Liability Partnership Agreement Chose the “Aggregate Model” and Partner Withdrawal Caused Dissolution

United States v. Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, No. 256, 2019 (Del. Mar. 17, 2020).  

In this case, the Delaware Supreme Court answered three certified questions from the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the effect of a partner’s withdrawal from a Delaware limited liability partnership formed to prosecute a qui tam action. The Court ruled that unambiguous language in the Partnership Agreement opting out of the “entity model” of partnership provided in the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act meant that the partner’s withdrawal dissolved the partnership (Question 1). The Court also held that the entity that was continuing litigation through an amended complaint after the partner’s withdrawal was a new and different partnership (Question 2). Moreover, because the old entity dissolved at such an early point in the litigation, and because the partners had formed it solely to prosecute the litigation, the old partnership could not continue the litigation because to do so was inconsistent with the agreement’s requirements for a prompt liquidation (Question 3).  More ›

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Chancery Permits Receiver to Tax Petitioner for Costs of Receivership

Longoria v. Somers, C.A. No. 2018-0190-JTL (Del. Ch. May 28, 2019).

The Court of Chancery may appoint a receiver to wind up a deadlocked corporate entity.  When that happens, the corporation normally pays the receiver’s fees and expenses.  Here, however, the entity was insolvent and unable to pay, and the Petitioner (a 50% owner) opposed contributing to the payment of certain expenses.  More ›

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