Keep your finger on the legal world's pulse

Delaware’s top court has approved $267m in fees for lawyers at five firms representing shareholders who secured $1bn in a lawsuit over an acquisition involving Dell Technologies, rejecting claims that the award was excessive. The fee is one of the largest ever for U.S. shareholder litigation. A Delaware trial court is weighing two other requests for large legal fees, both in cases involving Tesla. The latest ruling contained language that might be seen as helpful for the carmaker's efforts to fight those fees, Reuters reports. The judgment by the Delaware Supreme Court has its origins in a 2019 deal in which Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners had acquired shares of a Dell Technologies affiliate that they did not own, engineering a reverse merger that listed the broader Dell group at a $100bn enterprise valuation. Plaintiffs alleged that they and other shareholders were short-changed. Last year, a Court of Chancery judge awarded the $267m fee paid from the settlement to the five law firms that brought the lawsuit, including Labaton Keller Sucharow and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, saying it was in line with Delaware legal precedent.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

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The hire of two partners and a director by Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg is part of the U.S. firm's strategy for growing its African dispute resolution practice. Michelle Porter-Wright, a director at A&O Shearman, and colleague Rebecca Thomson, a senior associate, will join the partnership at Baker McKenzie, while Tiffany Gray has been hired as a director designate from CDH. Porter-Wright says Baker McKenzie's African strategy “aligns perfectly with my vision for growth in this region.” The move marks a return to a firm where Porter-Wright previously spent more than four-and-a-half years. The trio's “combined expertise across international arbitration, investigations and commercial litigation will be invaluable to our clients with complex needs in key African markets,” says Steve Abraham, head of dispute resolution for the EMEA region at Baker McKenzie.

 

CDR

Disney is asking a Florida court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the husband of a New York doctor who suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant in Disney Springs. The company argues that the husband had agreed to settle any lawsuits against Disney out of court through the arbitration process when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+. However, the husband's lawyer argues that it is absurd to believe that signing up for Disney+ would forever bar the right to sue the company. The lawsuit claims that the wife had informed the server about her severe allergy and ordered allergen-free food, but still had an allergic reaction and eventually died. An October 2 hearing has been scheduled on Disney's motion in county court in Orlando.

 

Los Angeles Times

U.S. News

A judge has ruled that Gokhan Gun, a Defense Department civilian employee who is a U.S.-Turkish dual citizen, can remain free on home detention while awaiting trial for mishandling classified documents. Gun was arrested outside his home and charged with carrying classified material, including a document marked Top Secret, while on his way to the airport for a fishing trip to Mexico. Prosecutors may bring additional charges under the Espionage Act if they can prove that Gun intended to distribute the documents to a foreign power. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan Davis ruled that there is not enough evidence to connect Gun's trip to Mexico with the mishandling of documents, and therefore, he should be free while awaiting trial. Gun will be subject to home detention and GPS monitoring if released pretrial. Prosecutors plan to appeal the judge's ruling. Gun is an electrical engineer with the Joint Warfare Analysis Center and has a Top Secret security clearance. He became a U.S. citizen in 2021 and has taken multiple overseas trips, including visits to Turkey where his parents live.

 

U.S. News

Upside Foods, a manufacturer of lab-grown meat, has filed a lawsuit challenging a recently enacted Florida law that bans the sale of the product. The manufacturer argues that the restrictions give an unconstitutional advantage to Florida farmers over out-of-state competitors. The sale of "cell-cultured" or "cell-cultivated" meat was approved by U.S. regulators in June 2023. However, Florida and Alabama have banned the sale of the product, citing it as a threat to their agriculture industries. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. "This is delicious meat," said Upside Foods chief executive Uma Valeti. "And we just fundamentally believe that people should have a choice to choose what they want to put on their plate." 

 

The Hill

Politico

US News and World Report

Elon Musk's Dublin-based Twitter International UC has been ordered to pay an Irish record unfair dismissal award of €550,131 (c.$600,000) to a former senior employee. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found that the company unfairly dismissed the former director, Gary Rooney, for not responding to Musk's "Fork in the Road" email. Musk acquired Twitter's global business in 2022, and shortly after, 140 employees at its European HQ in Dublin were made redundant. Twitter International UC contested Rooney's claim, but the WRC ruled in his favor. The record award includes remuneration losses and future remuneration losses. Rooney has since secured a new role in the banking sector. Musk's company has the option to appeal the ruling to the Labour Court.

 

Fortune

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has told a federal appeals court that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring certain in-house agency enforcement proceedings has no effect on its powers to remedy illegal labor practices. In a brief filed Monday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving Macy's, the board said the high court's June ruling in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy did not disturb a Supreme Court decision from the 1930s upholding the NLRB's then-novel structure. The board in Monday's brief said ensuring that workers are made fully whole for costs they incur as the result of illegal firings and other employer misconduct is distinct from the punitive damages levied by the SEC and other agencies. Macy's, however, which is appealing an NLRB decision that found the retailer illegally locked out workers after a strike, said in a duelling brief on Monday that Jarkesy applies to any claims that evolved out of common law including those involving illegal firings, which are akin to wrongful termination claims. The case is Macy's Inc v. NLRB, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-150.

 

Reuters

A Conservative think tank, the Illinois Policy Institute, is suing the state of Illinois over the recently signed Worker Freedom of Speech Act. The new law limits employers' use of "captive audience" meetings where employees are forced to listen to their boss's political or religious views. The law, which goes into effect in 2025, does not prohibit these meetings but prevents employers from punishing workers who choose not to attend. The Illinois Policy Institute argues that the law infringes on employers' freedom of speech rights and is too broad. Similar laws are being challenged in Minnesota and Connecticut. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker also signed the Child Labor Law of 2024, which sets new limits on the hours minors can work and where they can work. The law will go into effect in 2025 and includes restrictions on hiring minors for cannabis dispensaries, adult entertainment facilities, and gun ranges. The Illinois AFL-CIO has praised both bills as key priorities for the labor group.

 

The State Journal Register

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, fresh off a record contract with UPS, is now focusing on organizing Amazon. Teamsters Local 89, based in Louisville, has been assigned to organize the Amazon Air Hub workers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. The union has placed staff members in the area to assist with organizing efforts. The unionization process at the Northern Kentucky facility does not have a specific timeframe. The Teamsters have been actively involved in unionization efforts, including door-knocking campaigns and strikes, to rally support. The Amazon Air Hub, which opened in 2021, is the largest air hub in the world and employs around 4,000 workers. Kentucky has become a hub for labor movements, with numerous actions taking place in the state. The Teamsters' successful negotiations with UPS and the UAW strike at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant have set the stage for further labor contract negotiations in the area.

 

Cincinnati.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled fraud charges against electric vehicle company Ideanomics and its former chairman and chief executive, Zheng (Bruno) Wu. The SEC alleged that Ideanomics and Wu misled the public about the company's financial performance between 2017 and 2019. The company reported revenue guidance of $300m in 2017 but later reported $144m in revenues. The SEC also claimed that Ideanomics and Wu provided a fraudulent letter of intent to avoid a $17m writedown on certain assets. Wu allegedly hid his personal interest in two companies that received millions in cash and stock from deals with Ideanomics. Ideanomics' current CEO Alfred Poor and former CFO Frederico Tovar were also charged for their roles in the scheme. The SEC found that Ideanomics, Wu, Poor, and Tovar improperly accounted for cryptocurrency assets, resulting in overstating the company's revenues by more than $40m. All respondents settled the matter without admitting or denying the SEC's findings.

 

Accounting Today

Davis Polk has made a significant move in London by hiring Gordon Milne, a senior private equity partner from A&O Shearman. This follows the firm's strategy to expand its London office and establish a leading private equity practice. Milne brings extensive experience in advising private equity firms and financial sponsors on mergers and acquisitions. He has worked with notable clients such as Exponent Private Equity and PAI Partners.

 

LawFuel

Andrew Goodman has joined Paul Hastings as a mergers and acquisitions and shareholder activism partner. He focuses on public company M&A, corporate governance, shareholder activism defense, and contested situations. Goodman advises clients across sectors and has deep experience in life sciences, technology, and real estate investment trust M&A.

 

Bloomberg Law

K&L Gates has announced the addition of Kelly Terribile as a partner in its corporate practice. Terribile joins the firm's Wilmington office from Greenberg Traurig. 

 

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