Cases & Investigations
AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. Stockholder Litigation 

This breach of fiduciary duty action, in which Wolf Popper LLP served as co-lead counsel, arose from a 2018 transaction whereby insurance holding company AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. was taken private by the Karfunkel-Zyskind family, led by AmTrust’s CEO, Barry Zyskind, and which had owned a controlling majority stake in the company.   In a memorandum opinion dated February 26, 2020, Chancellor Andre Bouchard of the Delaware Court of Chancery largely denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss, finding, among other things, that the stockholders represented by Wolf Popper raised  “significant questions” about the fairness of the merger process.
 
On November 22, 2021, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will approved a $40,000,000.00 settlement for the benefit of a class of former AmTrust minority stockholders who had their shares converted to cash pursuant to the merger.  The Vice Chancellor congratulated counsel on a “fantastic” settlement, which she found to be fair and in the best interests of the class.
 
Before being appointed co-lead counsel on behalf of the class, Wolf Popper represented various entities affiliated with Arca Capital Group, a private equity fund based in the Czech Republic, which owned approximately 2.4% of AmTrust common stock and which publicly agitated against the merger.  In connection with this representation, Wolf Popper prosecuted an investigation pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law into AmTrust’s corporate books and records.
 
The now-resolved case is In re AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, No. 2018-0396-LWW in the Delaware Court of Chancery.