U.S. District Court denies defendants’ motion to dismiss in dispute over $32.5 million termination fee payment.

The court denies defendants’ motion to dismiss claims arising from a closed-end fund’s collapse and subsequent unfair merger.

Vice Chancellor Zurn denies defendants’ motion to dismiss in case arising from the collapse of the Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund.

The Delaware Court of Chancery, in an October 2021 opinion, held that a board wrongfully refused a stockholder demand because it was “reasonable to infer that the directors just did not care about complying with the legal requirements of Delaware law.” The decision is a reminder to directors that their fiduciary duties do not permit them to cursorily refuse a legitimate stockholder demand, and a reminder to investors that they have meaningful legal options if a board refuses to remedy clear corporate misconduct.

In a recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision, stockholders of Gilead Sciences, Inc. successfully obtained attorneys’ fees after prevailing in a books and records action against the company. 

A Massachusetts Superior Court decision in March 2021 reaffirms the significant contractual, state law, and federal law protections over fund shareholder voting rights.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in Oxford University Bank v. Lansuppe Feeder LLC, held that Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 creates a private right of action to seek rescission of an unlawful contract.

A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit greatly missed the mark, and could be concerning for investors relying on the Investment Company Act to keep mutual fund advisors honest.

Plaintiffs in an excessive-fee case against The Hartford received some discouraging news last week when a judge ruled entirely in favor of the adviser at trial, the latest result in a wave of similar lawsuits.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on securities litigation may not be as significant as some suggest.