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3 Law Firms Seek ‘Mootness Fees’ in Investor Suit

August 14, 2021 | Posted in : Expenses / Costs, Fee Allocation / Fee Apportionment, Fee Entitlement / Recoverability, Fee Request, Fees & Corp. Bylaws, Mootness Fees

A recent Law 360 story by Rose Krebs, “3 Firms Seek Fee For Mooted ViacomCBS Board Suit in Del”, reports that Cooch & Taylor, Glancy Prongay & Murray, and Kranenburg have asked the Delaware Chancery Court award them $120,000 in attorneys' fees for an investor's suit dismissed earlier this year over a challenged bylaw as to how company directors can be removed.  In a stipulated agreement filed with Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III, Cooch & Taylor PA, Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP and Kranenburg, along with counsel for ViacomCBS and its directors, resolved the firms' bid for attorneys' fees and expenses now that the case has been dismissed after an action by the company's board mooted the underlying issue.

"The parties negotiated at arms' length and resolved Plaintiff's claim to entitlement to a mootness fee, with the company agreeing, in the exercise of business judgment, to pay $120,000 for any and all attorneys' fees and expenses" for the three firms, the stipulation said.  A notice that would be provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including a clause that the company has agreed to pay the fees and expenses, was attached to the filing.  The notice would be sent to the SEC once the court signs off an order finalizing the agreement.

The firms sought the fee in connection with a suit filed last year by stockholder Gerald Lovoi flagging a provision of the company's bylaws that gave directors the authority to remove other directors, contrary to Delaware law.  "Stockholders of a corporation organized and existing under Delaware law have the exclusive authority to remove directors," the lawsuit asserted.  Lovoi sought a declaration from that court "that the removal provision was invalid and sought attorneys' fees and expenses if the claim was successful," the suit said.