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Mitchell Hamline School of Law

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Fiduciary duty

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Donahue's Fils Aîné: Reflections On Wilkes And The Legitimate Rights Of Selfish Ownership, Daniel S. Kleinberger Jan 2011

Donahue's Fils Aîné: Reflections On Wilkes And The Legitimate Rights Of Selfish Ownership, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

This Article asserts that Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home, Inc. should be at least as memorable as Donahue v. Rodd Electrotype Co., and is, in a practical sense, substantially more important. The assertion rests on two propositions: first, that Donahue announces admirable sentiments but provides little practical guidance; second, that Wilkes provides the best practical rule for adjudicating “oppression” claims when the alleged victim is also a miscreant or for some other reason the dispute is grey rather than black and white. In particular, this Article asserts that Wilkes’s multistep, burden-shifting rule is a nuanced and effective method for accommodating …


Finessing Well-Plead Derivative Lawsuits: The Implications Of The Minnesota Supreme Court's Selection Of Auerbach Over Zapata, James F. Hogg Jan 2009

Finessing Well-Plead Derivative Lawsuits: The Implications Of The Minnesota Supreme Court's Selection Of Auerbach Over Zapata, James F. Hogg

Faculty Scholarship

This article begins with the factual background and subsequent procedural history of the UnitedHealth Group Inc. shareholder derivitve litigation, as an instance where Minnesota courts effectively disposed of the factual allegations in a well-pleaded derivative action, directed at the behavior and actions of members of a board of directors, without reviewing finding of facts or reasoning behind the SLC's report or conclusions. The purpose of this article is to understand how a board-appointed committee can convince a court to dismiss and settle a derivative suit without showing detailed justification, and this is achieved by reviewing the statutes, case law, and …


Agents Of The Good, Servants Of Evil: Harry Potter And The Law Of Agency, Daniel S. Kleinberger Jan 2007

Agents Of The Good, Servants Of Evil: Harry Potter And The Law Of Agency, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Seven Points To Explain Why The Law Ought Not Allow The Elimination Of Fiduciary Duty Within Closely Held Businesses: Cardozo Is Dead; We Have Killed Him., Daniel S. Kleinberger Jan 2005

Seven Points To Explain Why The Law Ought Not Allow The Elimination Of Fiduciary Duty Within Closely Held Businesses: Cardozo Is Dead; We Have Killed Him., Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

Prepared as part of the author's work as co-reporter for the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, this essay argues against legislation that empowers private agreements to eliminate fiduciary duty within a business organization. The essay considers: (i) the venerable role of fiduciary duty within business organizations and the limited predictive powers of those urging radical reform; (ii) the absence of prescience in contract drafters; (iii) the strict construction function of fiduciary law; (iv) the inevitable and inappropriate pressure that elimination would put on the obligation of good faith and fair dealing; (v) the differences in remedy available for fiduciary …


Why Not Good Faith?-The Foibles Of Fairness In Closely Held Corporations, Daniel S. Kleinberger Jan 1990

Why Not Good Faith?-The Foibles Of Fairness In Closely Held Corporations, Daniel S. Kleinberger

Faculty Scholarship

This essay describes the contours of the shareholder’s duty to be fair and explores some of the problems caused by the law’s imprecision in defining the duty of fairness. Because this duty is best understood as a rejection of old norms, part one of this essay describes the traditional doctrines of intra-corporate responsibility. Part two describes the special characteristics of a close corporation and outlines how those characteristics pushed close corporation law to new concepts of fairness and shareholder duties. Part three attempts to delineate those duties of fairness and also to highlight some of the dangers that arise when …