New York Court of Appeals Rescues Shareholder Claim Under Scotting Law for Breach of Fiduciary Duty Against Corporate Directors

In Eccles v. Shamrock Capital Advisors, LLC, 2024 WL 2331737 (N.Y. Ct. App. May 23, 2024), the New York Court of Appeals resuscitated a case dismissed by the Appellate Division, holding that plaintiffs—a group of over 100 common shareholders and founding members of FanDuel Ltd. (“FanDuel”), a Scottish online sports fantasy company—had sufficiently pled a breach of fiduciary claim under Scottish law against corporate directors.  Plaintiffs alleged that defendants had engaged in a scheme to benefit exclusively from the proceeds of a 2018 merger between FanDuel and the Dublin-based sports gambling company Paddy Power Betfair plc, and to eviscerate the interests of the common shareholders and founding members.  This case may have huge financial implications in that approximately two years later Flutter Entertainment plc acquired a 37.2% stake in FanDuel for $4.2 billion… Read more

Fiduciary Duty Established by Contract May Be Released by Contract, Too

In Stephanie Clegg v. Sotheby’s, 23-cv-01995, 2003 WL 8281487 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2023), the Southern District of New York held that the fiduciary duties of a consignee could be defined by a written consignment agreement and further modified by subsequent written agreements between the parties… Read more