A&O Shearman recognized in American Lawyer Litigation daily’s ‘Litigator of the Week’ for securities litigation victories for SAP and Uber

A victory in the Delaware Court of Chancery for SAP

The A&O Shearman team, led by partners Daniel Laguardia (San Francisco-Disputes) and Alan Goudiss (New York-Disputes), with support from associate Sam Stuckey, secured a victory in the Delaware Court of Chancery for their client, SAP, when Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster dismissed litigation arising from allegations that SAP, the controlling shareholder of Qualtrics International Inc., and SAP-affiliated directors, were liable for damages after Qualtrics' USD12.5 billion sale to Silver Lake Capital.

Plaintiffs had alleged that Qualtrics was sold below its potential value due to SAP's interest in renegotiated inter-company agreements and preventing a sale to a competing bidder. However, the court found no evidence of non-ratable benefits that would necessitate the "entire fairness" standard, and instead applied the "enhanced scrutiny" standard, under which the sale process was deemed reasonable, even under Delaware’s permissive pleading standard.

A Securities Exchange Act case victory for Uber Technologies, Inc.

Partners Daniel Laguardia and Grace Lee (Washington, D.C.-Disputes) obtained a litigation victory for Uber Technologies, Inc., in a Securities Exchange Act case before Justice Rita Lin in the Northern District of California. 

The complaint asserted securities fraud claims against Uber, its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and its former CFO Nelson Chai based on allegations relating to actions before Uber became a publicly traded company in 2019.  

The motion to dismiss focused on the years-long gap between the alleged misconduct and the alleged misstatements. Judge Lin agreed, dismissing the case because plaintiffs had not alleged any false statements. 

Read the “Litigator of the Week” article.