Court of Chancery Grants Section 220 Books and Records Demand Directed to Public Company's Private Subsidiary, but Limits Scope of Documents Available to Plaintiff.

The Court of Chancery recently ruled on a Section 220 books and records demand made by Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, Ltd. against Brighthouse Financial, Inc. The court determined that Greenlight had a proper purpose for inspecting Brighthouse's books and records, specifically to determine the value of its shares and assess the likelihood of future dividends. However, the court limited the scope of the documents available to Greenlight, stating that only the necessary and essential documents related to the likelihood of a dividend would be provided. The court also rejected Brighthouse's request for a trading restriction on Greenlight, stating that a standard confidentiality order was sufficient to protect Brighthouse's interests. [Extracted from the article]