Delaware Chancery Court Litigation

The Delaware Court of Chancery is renowned for the efficient handling of corporate and commercial litigation, particularly expedited matters, and for creating and maintaining a highly developed body of precedent in corporate law that is frequently adopted by courts in other jurisdictions.

Efficient resolution for corporate and commercial disputes

Over 1,000 civil actions are filed in the Court of Chancery every year. These cases include corporate matters such as challenges to mergers, fiduciary duty claims, books and records cases, board composition disputes and appraisal actions, as well as actions seeking commercial injunctions, such as employment restrictive covenants. The Delaware Court of Chancery is also known for its expedited proceedings, cases which are assigned the highest priority and proceed to resolution or preliminary injunction on an abbreviated schedule designed to meet the needs of the parties based on the nature of the dispute, sometimes as short as 60-90 days.

The Delaware Superior Court, specifically its Complex Commercial Litigation Division (CCLD), is a forum of choice for complicated contract disputes, particularly earn-out disputes which arise frequently with corporate sale agreements. The CCLD is available for cases with $1 million or more in dispute and is designed to ensure that such cases are decided promptly.

All appeals from Delaware’s Chancery Court and Superior Court go directly to the Delaware Supreme Court, which resolves appeals, on average, just 29.7 days from the close of briefing.

Put our experience to work for you

With sophisticated litigators located directly in Delaware, our team has the experience you need when prosecuting or defending complex corporate and commercial litigation in Delaware’s state courts. While our attorneys are versed in all aspects of the litigation process, including trial, we also routinely help clients resolve disputes prior to litigation and consult on fiduciary duties and corporate formalities. If litigation is commenced, we continue to explore ways to resolve pending litigation prior to incurring the costs of protracted litigation.

Our Delaware litigation team routinely handles the following types of cases:

• Fiduciary Duty – we represent stockholders, officers and directors in claims involving breach of fiduciary duty.
• Board Control – we represent officers and directors in disputes over the control or composition of the board and the removal of executives under 8 Del. C. § 225.
• Books and Records Demands – we assist companies and shareholders in resolving and litigating demands to inspect the books and records of the company under 8 Del. C. § 220 and 6 Del. C. § 18-305.
• Closely Held Company Disputes – we represent shareholders and members of closely-held companies in disputes over contract rights, shareholder and member rights and similar disputes.
• Earn-Outs – we represent sellers seeking to recover on earn-outs withheld by purchasers.
• Trade Secrets – we represent parties in trade secret litigation arising both in the commercial and employment contexts.
• Employment and Business Sale Restrictive Covenants – we represent parties in connection with proceedings seeking injunctions and damages for breaches of non-compete, non-solicit and confidentiality provisions, including fast-track expedited litigation seeking temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.

The Delaware Way

Our attorneys also frequently serve as Delaware counsel, helping co-counsel to navigate the Delaware courts and to do so following the “Delaware Way,” an unwritten standard of professionalism and collegiality that makes it possible to resolve and litigate cases efficiently.