Third Circuit Affirms Victory for DuPont

On behalf of client E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Skadden secured an appellate victory affirming the dismissal of a shareholder derivative lawsuit that accused current and former DuPont directors of alleged breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with patent litigation in 2012 versus Monsanto Co. that resulted in a $1 billion verdict against DuPont. On Jan. 15, in Zomolosky v. Kullman, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court of Delaware's decision that the derivative plaintiff failed to sufficiently allege that making a pre-suit demand on DuPont's board of directors was futile.