Biography
Tyler J. Leavengood is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Litigation Group. His practice focuses primarily on corporate and commercial litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which includes experience in litigating stockholder class and derivative actions, as well as actions for appraisal, dissolution, advancement, indemnification, and inspection of books and records. He also has experience in litigating in the Delaware Superior Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, and other state and federal courts across the country, as well as experience in counseling boards of directors and special board committees of Delaware corporations with respect to issues of fiduciary duty and internal corporate governance. His clients have included four of the ten largest companies ranked in the Fortune 500.
Practice Areas
Experience
Representative Matters
- Represents AmerisourceBergen Corp., a global pharmaceutical solutions company, in litigation in numerous matters in the Court of Chancery, Delaware Supreme Court, and District of Delaware.
- Represented current and former directors and officers of Calgon Carbon in successful defense against sale-process and disclosure claims, a decision affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court. Teamster Members Ret. Plan v. Dearth, 2022 WL 1744436, at *1 (Del. Ch. May 31, 2022), aff'd, 2023 WL 125659 (Del. Jan. 9, 2023).
- Represented Am Law 10 law firm in dismissal of high-profile derivative litigation against McDonald’s and its directors and officers involving first-impression aiding-and-abetting claims against outside counsel.
- Represented certain members of Facebook’s board of directors in several cases in the Court of Chancery and Delaware Supreme Court relating to a proposed recapitalization. United Food & Commercial Workers Union & Participating Food Indus. Employers Tri-State Pension Fund v. Zuckerberg, 250 A.3d 862 (Del. Ch. 2020), aff’d, 262 A.3d 1034 (Del. 2021).
- Represented defendants in connection with a derivative action by Walmart stockholders against certain current and former members of its board of directors for damages allegedly sustained by the Company in connection with certain alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The matter was dismissed by the Court of Chancery, a decision that was appealed, remanded, appealed again, and ultimately affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in a landmark ruling applying principles of collateral estoppel to the dismissal of a derivative action for failure to make demand. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to review the suit, ending more than six years of litigation. In re Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Del. Derivative Litig., 2016 WL 2908344 (Del. Ch. May 13, 2016), aff’d, Cal. State Teachers’ Ret. Sys. v. Alvarez, 179 A.3d 824 (Del. 2018), cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 177 (2018); Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Ind. Elec. Workers Pension Trust Fund IBEW, 95 A.3d 1264 (Del. 2014).
- Represented a leading e-discovery software vendor in trademark and breach of contract litigation in federal court.
- Represented biomedical company in successful defense against expedited litigation seeking to enjoin acquisition.
- Represented Citigroup and certain current and former members of its board of directors in connection with books-and-records litigation and dismissal of derivative actions relating to compliance with various federal laws and regulations. Okla. Firefighters Pension & Ret. Sys. v. Corbat, 2017 WL 6452240 (Del. Ch. Dec. 18, 2017).
- Represented Google and certain current and former members of its board of directors in connection with books-and-records litigation and dismissal of derivative actions relating to duty of oversight claims concerning advertising practices. DeKalb County Pension Fund v. Page, 2013 WL 603166 (Del. Ch. Feb. 18, 2013); Szmerkes v. Page, 2015 WL 881048, at *1 (Del.Ch.).
- Represented HP and certain current and former members of its board of directors in books-and-records litigation and dismissal of derivative action relating to acquisition. Cook v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 2014 WL 311111 (Del. Ch. Jan. 30, 2014); Cook v. Whitman, 2014 WL 3592088, at *1 (Del. Ch. July 22, 2014)
Professional Activities & Recognition
Honors & Recognitions
Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Corporate Law and Commercial Litigation, 2022 - present
Professional
Delaware State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Education
University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., with distinction and high honors, 2010; Managing Editor, Journal of Corporation Law
Texas A&M University, B.S., summa cum laude, 2006
Bar & Court Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Delaware, 2010
United States District Court for the District of Delaware, 2011