Delaware Chancery Mulls Fix for Record Demands ‘Larding Up’ Court

The top judge for Delaware’s Chancery Court is calling for a greater focus on the scope of board documents that shareholder plaintiffs can seek in pursuing fiduciary duty breach suits.

Litigation of demands on corporate boards to produce documents and records has proliferated in recent years, “larding up” the court’s docket with “glorified discovery disputes,” Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick said in a recent speech on M&A litigation at a securities conference.

With the volume of so-called “Section 220 demands” showing no signs of abating, corporate attorneys said more clarity from the court on what constitutes “books and records” would benefit all ...