Document: Beiser v. PMC-Sierra, Inc., C.A. No. 3893-VCL, Lamb, V.C. (Del. Ch. Feb. 26, 2009)
Plaintiff brought suit under 8 Del. C. § 220 for the production of certain books and records while simultaneously serving as the lead plaintiff in a related federal action in which discovery had been stayed pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PSLRA”). The Court held that Plaintiff did not plead a proper § 220 purpose reasonably related to a stockholder interest where the only use for the requested documents that could be inferred was to assist in the prosecution of the federal action where discovery was stayed under the PSLRA. As the Plaintiff could have filed his § 220 action before filing his federal complaint, the Court dismissed Plaintiff’s § 220 action in order to avoid circumvention of the PSLRA.