Singh v. Attenborough:  Delaware Supreme Court Slams Door Shut on Aiding and Abetting Claims Against Board Advisors

Since March 2014, when Vice Chancellor Laster issued a post-trial decision in In re Rural Metro Corp. finding an investment bank liable for having aided and abetted the breaches of fiduciary duty committed by the board of directors of Rural/Metro Corporation in connection with the company’s sale, financial and other board advisors (including outside counsel) have been squarely in the cross hairs of entrepreneurial plaintiffs’ lawyers litigating corporate governance claims.  Following the Vice Chancellor’s later decision finding the bank liable for more than $75 million in damages, and the Supreme Court’s affirmance of those decisions, plaintiffs’ lawyers were emboldened to pursue aiding and abetting claims against what they perceived as potentially deep-pocketed (and non-exculpated) defendants. 

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