Charitable Causes

The derivative litigation surrounding alleged insider trading by Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle, has taken a surprising turn. (The 10b-5 Daily has previously discussed the contradictory judicial decisions over this trading in a post entitled “Is A Billion Dollars In Stock Sales Significant?”) The New York Times reports that Mr. Ellison will pay $100 million to charity to resolve one of the two derivative cases pending in California state court. The attorneys for the derivative plaintiff will receive a separate payment of $22.5 million.

Quote of note: “‘I’ve never heard of anything, structured from the beginning as a settlement this large, going to a charity,’ said Michael A. Perino, a law professor at St. John’s University School of Law. Typically, Mr. Perino said, a derivative action results in a payment to the company.”