Dropbox Case Opens New Front in Delaware’s Corporate Culture War

After a legislative battle over a rewrite of Delaware’s best-in-class corporate laws, the stage is set for a high-stakes court fight that could hinge on the meaning of obscure centuries-old precedents.

The first challenge to the overhaul—shifting legal power toward business leaders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg—comes in a case targeting Dropbox Inc.'s move to Nevada, one of the high-profile “DExits” that sparked a panic in America’s corporate capital.

The lawsuit, initially filed under seal April 3, concerns an arcane feature of Delaware’s elite business court: its role as an “equitable” tribunal designed for cases that defy rigid ...