In North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. v. Gheewalla, 2007 WL 1453705 (Del. May 18, 2007), the Delaware Supreme Court, in a case of first impression, provided some clarity on the controversial issue of whether and to what extent creditors have the ability to assert fiduciary duty claims against directors. 

The United States government appears to have conceded that a complete dismissal of indictments against 12 former KPMG partners is the only appropriate remedy in light of an earlier ruling that federal prosecutors violated the defendants’ constitutional rights.  The action, U.S. v. Stein, No. 05 Crim. 0888 (S.D.N.Y.), stems from allegations that KPMG employees participated in a scheme to defraud the IRS by creating fraudulent tax shelters for wealthy clients. 

The first criminal trial  arising out of the stock options backdating scandals, involving Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.’s former CEO, Gregory Reyes, began on Monday, June 18, 2007 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.  Reyes is accused of intentionally falsifying board meeting minutes and disseminating false financial statements in order to conceal the backdating of stock options.