Randall J. Baron

Notable achievements over the years include: In re Kinder Morgan, Inc. S’holders Litig. (Kan. Dist. Ct., Shawnee Cnty.), where Baron obtained an unprecedented $200 million common fund for former Kinder Morgan shareholders, the largest merger & acquisition class action recovery in history; In re Dole Food Co., Inc. S’holder Litig. (Del. Ch.), where he went to trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery on claims of breach of fiduciary duty on behalf of Dole Food Co., Inc. shareholders and obtained $148 million, the largest trial verdict ever in a class action challenging a merger transaction; and In re Rural/Metro Corp. S’holders Litig. (Del. Ch.), where Baron and co-counsel obtained nearly $110 million total recovery for shareholders against Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets LLC. In In re Del Monte Foods Co. S’holders Litig. (Del. Ch.), he exposed the unseemly practice by investment bankers of participating on both sides of large merger and acquisition transactions and ultimately secured an $89 million settlement for shareholders of Del Monte. Baron was one of the lead attorneys representing about 75 public and private institutional investors that filed and settled individual actions in In re WorldCom Sec. Litig. (S.D.N.Y.), where more than $657 million was recovered, the largest opt-out (non-class) securities action in history. In In re Dollar Gen. Corp. S’holder Litig. (Tenn. Cir. Ct., Davidson Cnty.), Baron was lead trial counsel and helped to secure a settlement of up to $57 million in a common fund shortly before trial, and in Brown v. Brewer (C.D. Cal.), he secured $45 million for shareholders of Intermix Corporation, relating to News Corp.’s acquisition of that company. In In re Chaparral Res., Inc. S’holders Litig. (Del. Ch.), he was one of the lead trial counsel, which resulted in a common fund settlement of $41 million (or 45% increase above merger price) after a full trial and a subsequent mediation before the Delaware Chancellor.  In In re ACS S’holder Litig. (Tex. Cnty. Ct., Dallas Cnty.), Baron led the negotiations and obtained significant concessions from ACS’s acquirer, Xerox, by which shareholders would not be locked out of receiving more money from another buyer.  In In re Prime Hospitality, Inc. S’holder Litig. (Del. Ch.), he led a team of lawyers who objected to a settlement that was unfair to the class and proceeded to litigate breach of fiduciary duty issues involving a sale of hotels to a private equity firm. The litigation resulted in a common fund settlement of $25 million for shareholders.  Most recently, Baron successfully obtained a partial settlement of $60 million in In re Tesla Motors, Inc. S’holder Litig., a case that alleged that the members of the Tesla Board of Directors breached their fiduciary duties, unjustly enriched themselves, and wasted corporate assets in connection with their approval of Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity Corp. in 2016.

Baron earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, graduating cum laude.