Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Shareholder Win at Trial Over Rural/Metro Buyout

The Delaware Supreme Court issued a 107-page opinion today affirming Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster’s post-trial decision finding defendant RBC Capital Markets liable for aiding and abetting Rural/Metro Corporation’s board of directors’ fiduciary duty breaches in the buyout of Rural/Metro by Warburg Pincus LLC.  In affirming several of Vice Chancellor Laster’s post-trial decisions, the Supreme Court notably upheld the Chancery Court’s finding that RBC is liable for nearly $100 million to the class of former Rural/Metro shareholders.

Robbins Geller’s prior efforts over the past four years in securing the win at trial and $100 million judgment are detailed here and here.

“This is a phenomenal result for former Rural/Metro shareholders, as well all shareholders of public corporations going forward. After four years of hard-fought litigation, we’re pleased that the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Chancery Court’s decisions and shareholders can finally recoup what they were owed when Rural/Metro was sold in 2011,” said Randall J. Baron of Robbins Geller, one of the lead plaintiff’s attorneys on the case.