HISTORIC $190 MILLION MID-TRIAL SETTLEMENT
IN THE FIRST EVER CAREMARK TRIAL

In re: Facebook Inc. Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2018-0307-KSJM (Del. Ch.)

DIRECTORS’ FAILED OVERSIGHT LED TO THE ILLEGAL SHARING
OF FACEBOOK USER DATA WITH THIRD PARTIES

+ First Caremark Case to Proceed to Trial

+ $190 Million Cash Recovery

+ Significant Reforms to Meta’s Whistleblower Program,  Director Independence Standards, and Insider Trading Policies

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that the personal information of millions of Facebook users were improperly shared with third parties, Scott+Scott filed a stockholder derivative action to seek accountability from Meta’s senior leaders. Representing co-lead plaintiff Birmingham Retirement and Relief System, Scott+Scott took on some of the most powerful individuals in Silicon Valley, including Meta’s Chairman, CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, as well as other current and former directors and officers, including former Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel, and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen.   

This action was the first ever to proceed to trial under Delaware’s Caremark doctrine, which imposes duties of oversight on a company’s directors and officers.  Although such claims are often described as the toughest to prove in all of corporate law, Scott-Scott’s relentless efforts resulted in a historic mid-trial settlement.

This settlement provided for a $190 million cash recovery and significant reforms to Meta’s whistleblower program, director independence standards, and insider trading policies.

The settlement came after:

+ More than 7 years of hard-fought litigation, including 37 depositions;

+ The production of over 9 million pages of confidential discovery materials;

+ A successful motion for sanctions against Sheryl Sandberg for her knowing destruction of emails related to this case.