Latest news with #DelawareCourtofChancery
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New lawsuit aims to oust Christina school board member living in Pakistan
The district may have a new superintendent on deck, but infighting on the Christina school board continues. Board member Doug Manley filed a lawsuit April 23 angling to force the removal of fellow board member Naveed Baqir. The lawsuit urges the Delaware Court of Chancery to declare his colleague – who has been living in Pakistan for over a year – no longer a district resident eligible for board service. 'In promoting false representations to his constituents, Baqir has breached his duties to the CSD, as a result of which Baqir obtained improper personal benefits including influence over the board during meetings and voting sessions to which he is not lawfully entitled,' Manley's lawsuit reads. Baqir, a co-founder of the private Tarbiyah School near Newark with his wife and once executive director of the Delaware Council on Global and Muslim Affairs, was elected to the board in 2021. His term expires in June 2026. Manley seeks more immediate action. He claims votes from that District F seat have been cast virtually since January 2024, while Baqir has been out of the district, out of the state and out of the country. Most recently, the board selected a new superintendent in Deirdra Joyner on April 18, after months of turmoil following the ouster of its former district head in July 2024. Christina Board Member Douglas Manley, Nominating District C, takes notes during the Christina school board regular meeting at the Glasgow High School Auditorium in Newark, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Baqir has often been a deciding vote of a four-person bloc on board decisions, including the 4-3 ouster of former superintendent Dan Shelton. He's still suing for more than $2.7 million. Manley has repeatedly protested these votes, along similar concerns that line this April lawsuit. Also in summer 2024, Board President Donald Patton publicly confirmed Baqir had been out of the country due to "severe health issues" affecting elderly family, but that regular attendance had been kept remotely from Pakistan. Baqir is now also enrolled in medical school at Pakistan-based Dow University of Health Sciences, according to the lawsuit and supported by previous comments from Baqir. "This is ridiculous. It just gets the public riled-up," Patton said Friday morning. The board's lawyer has been clear, he said, that the body does not have authority to adjudicate disputes on an elected board member's residency. The president called the lawsuit a distraction, while Baqir has kept up with board duties. Baqir has argued Delaware remains his permanent address. The board member did not respond to request for comment on this lawsuit by time of publication. Looking back: Ousted superintendent sues Christina school board for millions over 'destroyed' reputation So far, just how to define "resident" in this context, as well as the authority to do anything about it, seems caught up in debate. A bill in Dover aims to clear it up. Sponsored by Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, one bill in the state House would set residency requirements for school board members, mandating that any member is an 'inhabitant' of a designated area or school district for at least 75% of the days in any one year of their term. Absence due to military service is not counted. Patton noted another board member would have fallen under that ratio for virtual meeting attendance in the last year, but he did not specify whom. Naveed Baqir was elected to the Christina school board in 2021. It would also allow residents to bring an action to the Superior Court if there is reason to believe a member is no longer residing in the district. The court could then declare a vacancy. That draft legislation now heads to the full floor for consideration. It joins about four other bills hoping to tighten up Delaware school board governance. This April lawsuit seeks an immediate injunction to block Baqir from board service, a directive to the district to legally fill the seat and award all attorney fees. In Delaware, when a school board seat becomes vacant the district must notify the Department of Elections so a new member can can be appointed or a special election can be held. Christina School District has not declared any vacancy. Got a tip or story idea? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@ or (231) 622-2191. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Lawsuit aims to oust Christina school board member living in Pakistan
New York Times
11-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Top Law Firms Defend Overhaul of America's Business Court
As Delaware lawmakers prepare to hold hearings tomorrow about a bill that could reshape corporate America, some of the biggest corporate law firms are coming out in favor of it. On Tuesday, 21 corporate law firms — including Simpson Thacher and Bartlett; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison — will publish a letter strongly supporting legislation that would override a series of decisions by the Delaware Court of Chancery. These rulings have prompted backlash from companies and led many, including Meta, to contemplate moving their incorporation outside the state. The letter's argument: The bill is 'an important step in maintaining Delaware's status as the jurisdiction of choice for sophisticated clients when they create companies,' the law firms write. Some background: Delaware has been ensnared in controversy after several rulings, including Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick's decision last year to nullify a big payout for Elon Musk at Tesla. While Musk's ire over that decision brought attention to the chancery court, many corporate lawyers say they're more broadly frustrated with the court's treatment of companies with controlling shareholders, arguing that it has been overly deferential to noncontrolling shareholders. Given how corporate America fuels Delaware's budget, a group of Delaware state senators proposed a bill last month to amend the state constitution that would effectively override years of case law by the Delaware Court of Chancery. The group sidestepped the usual process for proposing bills, allowing it to move swiftly — but critics say that it also left out early input from key members of the influential Delaware bar. The issue was a major topic at Tulane University's Corporate Law Institute conference, a big gathering of deal makers held last week in New Orleans. 'We are disempowering Delaware courts,' said Ned Weinberger, a partner at the plaintiffs' law firm Labaton Keller Sucharow, arguing the amendment would erode the voice of minority shareholders. Scott Barshay, a partner at Paul, Weiss and a top deal maker, said the amendment would help stop a corporate exodus from Delaware. 'It's very important that this legislation gets passed,' he said onstage at the conference. The letter was born out of sideline conversations at the conference. It argues that, despite the relatively unusual intervention by the Delaware legislature, a response to corporate angst is not unprecedented. 'Over its long history at the epicenter of American corporate law, Delaware has repeatedly adjusted its approach in order to modernize and respond to market developments,' the lawyers write. Who's in — and who's out: Other law firms that signed the letter include Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Corporate law insiders will notice one major law firm that didn't sign: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where Leo Strine Jr., a former chancellor of the Court of Chancery, is of counsel. (That said, Martin Lipton, one of the firm's founders, wrote in support of the bill shortly after its release.) At the conference, Mr. Strine allowed that more companies have become concerned about unpredictability in Delaware courts. Separately, David Katz, a senior M&A partner at Wachtell, said the bill wasn't connected to Mr. Musk's criticism of Delaware, a common critique of it.
