Oftentimes our courts must consider conflicts between public policies embodied in state and federal statutes, a task made more complex when one or both statutes are ambiguous or do not expressly address a particular manifestation of a societal concern within the ambit of the policies. Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit was called upon to address an apparent conflict between the policies underlying the provisions of (1) the Delaware General Corporation Law empowering corporations (a) to indemnify officers and directors from expenses, including judgments, settlements and legal fees, incurred in the defense of actions brought or threatened by reason of their corporate positions,1 and (b) to advance the payment of such expenses pending the final disposition of such actions,2 and (2) the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) mandating certain aspects of a “bar order” discharging a settling defendant from future claims arising from the settled action.3 In re: HealthSouth Corporation Securities Litigation, 2009 WL 1675398 (11th Cir. June 17, 2009).
In HealthSouth, a non-settling defendant, Richard Scrushy, the former chairman and chief executive officer of HealthSouth, challenged a bar extinguishing his claims against HealthSouth for indemnification and advancement of fees in connection with HealthSouth’s settlement. The bar order precluded Mr. Scrushy’s claim for indemnification, whether based upon a subsequent judgment against him or any future settlement by him, as well as any claim for advancement of his defense costs. Among Mr. Scrushy’s arguments were:
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