On May 21, 2020, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion denying a holder’s ripeness challenge to an administrative subpoena for documents issued by the Delaware Department of Finance pursuant to the amended provisions of the State’s abandoned and unclaimed property law.  In State of Delaware Department of Finance v. Univar, Inc., the Delaware Department of Finance filed a summary... Continue Reading

The first quarter of 2020 has brought interesting Delaware law developments for private, venture-backed companies. As is often the case, arising issues for companies in the venture capital and private equity space have had a different emphasis from the public company area. While public companies may be considering issues such as “virtual” stockholder meetings, delayed... Continue Reading

Unclaimed property is an arcane concept, a modern outgrowth of ancient legal principles. These principles, as recognized in a series of U.S. Supreme Court opinions, provide the State the right to take custody of abandoned property – uncashed checks, unclaimed bank accounts, stock certificates and much more – in the possession of a person or company (i.e., “holders”), which has not been... Continue Reading

One of the many significant developments in the field of trust lawover the past decade has been the increasing popularity of socalled “silent trusts”. The term “silent trust” generally describes an arrangement in which a trustee is prohibited under the terms of a governing instrument from providing information to the trust’s beneficiaries, or where the trustee is relieved from its common... Continue Reading

Morris Nichols attorneys Todd Flubacher and J. Zachary Haupt authored three guides on Delaware law for Practical Law. Their Delaware Estate Tax Q&A guide addresses whether a jurisdiction has any estate tax or other similar taxes imposed at death and, for jurisdictions currently imposing a state estate tax... Continue Reading

The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware modified its COVID-19 standing order today. Although the Court remains open, all jury trials scheduled to begin before May 31, 2020, are continued under the revised order. Jury proceedings affected by the order will be reset by further order of the assigned judge... Continue Reading

As COVID-19 continues to affect the legal community and the world in various ways, Delaware courts and state agencies have issued orders concerning COVID-19 measures. Here, we have consolidated key Delaware law resources on the unfolding situation. Our attorneys are committed to serving our clients through this challenging time... Continue Reading

In light of the health risks posed by COVID-19, on April 6, 2020, Delaware Governor John C. Carney issued a modification of Delaware’s state of emergency first declared on March 12, 2020, to provide some flexibility to Delaware public corporations that have already sent notice of meetings to be held at a physical location... Continue Reading

On February 20, 2020, Delaware’s VDA Administrator mailed invitations to enter into the State’s Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Voluntary Disclosure Agreement Program (“VDA Program”) to more than 100 companies identified as likely being out of compliance with Delaware’s Unclaimed Property Laws. By statute, an invitee has 60 days from the invitation’s mailing to enroll in the VDA... Continue Reading

“It costs a lot of money to go broke. In the case of a chapter 11 bankruptcy, the cost includes quarterly fees payable to the Office of the United States Trustee (the “UST”), a component of the Department of Justice that oversees bankruptcy cases. The UST’s oversight program is funded by chapter 11 debtors pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(6), which requires each debtor to pay quarterly... Continue Reading