17 August 2011

Empirical Legal Research To Do

1. How often are derivative suits successful?
2. Is there a difference in success rates in derivative suits between publicly held and privately held companies? Which does it favor?
3. How many derivative suits are brought in state courts? Surely Delaware is an outlier, but what about, for example, Colorado?
4. How many claims are paid on officer and director liability insurance policies? What are the most common fact patterns?
5. What impact does a failed derivative suit have on the target company, even if it does not prevail on the merits?

2 comments:

Dave Barnes said...

"How often are derivative suits successful?"

Quite often.
Just look at the sales of Men's Wearhouse.

Andrew Oh-Willeke said...

Har har har.

FWIW, a derivative suit is a lawsuit by a non-controlling owner of the company alleging that the majority owners have failed without good justification to pursue rights against a third party and seeking permission to enforce those rights.