Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
I

In re Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation

731 A.2d 342 (1998)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

In re Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation

Delaware Court of Chancery
731 A.2d 342 (1998)

CS
Play video

Facts

Michael Ovitz left his position as chairman of Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to become president of Walt Disney Company (Disney), a Delaware corporation. To induce Ovitz to leave CAA for Disney, Disney’s board of directors approved an employment contract for Ovitz that included a generous compensation package with extraordinarily large severance benefits. Although Ovitz’s employment contract with Disney had a five-year term, after just 14 months, the parties mutually agreed that Ovitz was not working out as president and should leave Disney. Disney’s board of directors agreed to honor the full severance-benefit provisions of Ovitz’s employment contract, which were worth more than $140 million. Ovitz’s severance benefits included three million Disney stock options granted upon his departure, but he forfeited two million Disney stock options previously granted. Several Disney stockholders (plaintiffs) filed a derivative suit against Disney’s directors (defendants), alleging the directors breached their fiduciary duties by approving Ovitz’s employment contract and by agreeing to honor the full severance-benefit provisions of the contract when Ovitz left Disney. The stockholders claimed that the terms of Ovitz’s employment contract amounted to corporate waste and incentivized Ovitz to leave Disney.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Chandler, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Business Associations

Key Terms