Proxy contests can be as contentious as political elections. Fight letters inundate stockholders. Charges and countercharges abound. But does all this fighting need to follow any rules? In its Oct. 23 decision in Red Oak Fund L.P. v. Digirad, Del. Ch. C.A. 8559-VCN, the Delaware Court of Chancery attempted to answer that question.
Briefly, Red Oak lost its attempt to oust the board of Digirad by a proxy contest. Red Oak then filed suit complaining that the election was conducted unfairly. It claimed Digirad had: (1) leaked false preliminary proxy results, (2) postponed unfavorable quarterly financial results until after the election, and (3) failed to disclose a plan to safeguard valuable net operating losses.
