Law Commons^™

Incapacitating Criminal Corporations, W. Robert Thomas

Vanderbilt Law Review

If there is any consensus in the fractious debates over corporate punishment, it is this: a corporation cannot be imprisoned, incarcerated, jailed, or otherwise locked up. Whatever fiction the criminal law entertains about corporate personhood, having a physical "body to kick"-and, by extension, a body to throw into prison-is not one of them. The ambition of this project is not to reject this obvious point but rather to challenge the less-obvious claim it has come to represent: incapacitation, despite long being a textbook justification for punishing individuals, does not bear on the criminal law of corporations.

This Article argues that …

How Do Corporations Play Politics?: The Fedex Story, Jill E. Fisch

Vanderbilt Law Review

Corporate political activity has been the subject of federal regulation since 1907, and the restrictions on corporate campaign contributions and other political expenditures continue to increase. Most recently, Congress banned soft money donations in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 ("BCRA"), a ban upheld by the Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC. Significantly, although the omnibus BCRA clearly was not directed exclusively at corporations, the Supreme Court began its lengthy opinion in McConnell by referencing and endorsing the efforts of Elihu Root, more than a century ago, to prohibit corporate political contributions. Repeatedly, within the broad context of campaign …

Shareholder Oppression In Close Corporations: The Unanswered Question Of Perspective, Douglas K. Moll

Vanderbilt Law Review

The doctrine of shareholder oppression protects the close corporation minority stockholder from the improper exercise of majority control.! Nevertheless, when a close corporation minority shareholder asserts that the majority shareholder has acted "oppressively" towards him, the minority's chance of success may very well depend on the perspective from which shareholder oppression is viewed. Consider the following two decisions:

In Priebe v. O'Malley, the controlling shareholders of a close corporation terminated the employment of Myron Priebe, a minority shareholder, for "unsatisfactory" work performance.! Priebe sued, asserting that the termination amounted to oppressive conduct! The trial court noted that "Priebe was not …

The Case For Applying The Eighth Amendment To Corporations, Elizabeth S. Warren

Vanderbilt Law Review

ABC Corporation employs fifty drivers and transports various products across state lines. An employee of ABC corporation secretly carries small amounts of illegal drugs in the trailers of the trucks he drives and does so without detection for five years. After law enforcement authorities discover the drug trafficking, the United States files an in rem action under 21 U.S.C. section 881(a)(4), seeking forfeiture of every truck that the guilty driver drove over the past five years and every trailer in which the guilty driver carried drugs. This forfeiture could result in ABC Corporation's losing a third of its trucks and …

The Separate Tax Status Of Loan-Out Corporations, Mary Lafrance

Vanderbilt Law Review

When professionals and other persons who offer their goods and/or services to the public conduct their businesses through corporations, the Treasury has acknowledged that for federal income tax purposes it must treat those corporations as separate and distinct from their controlling shareholder- employees, even where there is only a single shareholder-employee, provided that the corporation has a business purpose and the taxpayer consistently respects the corporate form. However, the Treasury has refused to accord equal dignity to incorporated workers who offer their services not to the public at large but to a single recipient or a small number of recipients. …

Book Reviews: Two Cheers For Capitalism / Does Freedom Work?, Henry Aaron

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although Kristol's book is vastly better than Devine's--both in style and in content--the two books suffer from a common short-coming. Kristol sees a central institution of modern capitalism--the corporation-under aggressive attack, and seeks to defend it. One may disagree with his appraisal of the risks, and resent his tendency to tar all critics with the inanities of the most extreme, but he has a strong case to make-that the rise of modern American capitalism has been a magnificent success story. This success has required an uneasy cooperation between free-market institutions and collective restraints and modifications of market outcomes. By seeing …

Competing Merger Offers - Disclosure And Related Problems, Author Unidentified

Vanderbilt Law Review

An attractive company that makes known its desire to find a merger partner or announces an agreement in principle to merge with another corporation is likely to receive multiple inquiries or multiple offers from acquisition-minded corporations. This Note examines various problems and duties confronting a publicly held company' that receives multiple merger inquiries and offers. The starting point for this analysis is one court's directive that a proxy statement soliciting shareholder approval of a merger recommended by management must disclose competing merger offers from third parties if such offers are "definitive" and "may" be more advantageous to the shareholders than …

Recent Cases, Robert E. Banta, Oby T. Brewer, Iii, Cornelia A. Clark, I. Terry Currie, Douglas W. Ey, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law-First Amendment-School Authorities May Prohibit High School Student's Distribution of Sex Questionnaire to Prevent Possible Psychological Harm to Other Students Robert Edward Banta

Plaintiff, editor of a high school publication,' brought suit in federal court seeking an order compelling defendant school officials to allow the student publication to distribute a sex questionnaire,to students in the high school and to publish the results. Plaintiff claimed that defendants had not shown that the planned distribution would disrupt school activities and that, therefore, defendants'prohibition of the questionnaire violated 42 U.S.C. § 19831 and the first and fourteenth amendments. Pointing to potential psychological …

Interstate Corporate Income Taxation-Recent Revolutions And A Modern Response, Eugene F. Corrigan

Vanderbilt Law Review

In recent years significant technical advances have enabled large corporations to sell into states from great distances and with a minimum of contact in those states. Nevertheless, the states and their political subdivisions are confronted with the claims of corporations that jurisdictional barriers to corporate income taxes should be raised, that improved enforcement techniques should be prohibited, and that certain classes of income should be immunized completely from state taxation. These revolutionary technical advances have created both major tax administration problems and tax administration opportunities for the states. Some of the latter, however, remain unexploited. This article examines the ramifications …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Topics Discussed in Recent Cases:

Administrative Law--Freedom of Information Act--Unclassified Documents Physically Connected with Classified Documents May Not Be Withheld Under the National Security and Foreign Affairs Secrets Exemption

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Antitrust--Treble Damage Class Actions--Privity with Defendant Required To Maintain Suit

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Constitutional Law--Equal Protection-State Probate Code Discriminating in Favor of Males Violates Equal Protection Clause

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Constitutional Law--Federal Preemption--Atomic Energy Act Requires Exclusive Federal Regulation of Radioactive Discharges from Nuclear Power Plants

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Corporations -Shareholder Suits -Shareholder May Inspect Corporate Records Only for Proper Purpose Ger-mane to his Economic Interest As Shareholder, Not Merely To Further his Own Social and …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Accountants--Auditors--Compliance with General Accounting Principles Not a Complete Defense To Criminal Fraud

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Administrative Law--Standing to Challenge Administrative Actions--Anyone Arguably Protected by Statute May Sue

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Constitutional Law--Abortion--Standard Excepting Abortions Done as "Necessary for the Preservation of the Mother's Life or Health" Held Unconstitutionally Vague

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Constitutional Law--Civil Rights--Discrimination by a Third Party in Connection with the Rental of Property Entitles the Injured Party to a Private Right of Damages Under Section 1982

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Constitutional Law--Double Jeopardy--Benton v. Maryland Applies Retroactively to State Criminal Convictions

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Copyright--Unfair Competition--Unauthorized Reproduction of Another's Recording for Resale Violates State Unfair Competition Doctrine

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Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Armed Forces--Courts-Martial Jurisdiction over Military Personnel Limited to Service--Connected Offenses

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Constitutional Law--Desegregation--Public Housing Authority Required to Build Most Units in White Neighborhoods

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Constitutional Law--Double Jeopardy--Fifth Amendment's Guarantee against Double Jeopardy is Applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment

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Constitutional Law--Garnishment--Prejudgment Wage Garnishment, in Absence of Conditions Requiring the Special Protection of a State or Creditor Interest, Violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

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Constitutional Law--State Taxation--State Use Tax Invalidly Applied to Fuel Gas Used as an Integral Part of Interstate Commerce

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Corporations--Corporate Director Accountable to Corporation Under State Law for Profits …

Bank Merger Policy And The Third National Bank Decision, Benjamin J. Klebaner

Vanderbilt Law Review

As measured by regional standards, banking in Tennessee's capital for years centered around three very large institutions and one of middle size. The latter, Nashville Bank and Trust Company(hereinafter Nashville Bank), merged into Third National Bank (the second largest bank in the area) in August, 1964, after the Justice Department failed to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the merger. This left Davidson County (the county in which Nashville is located) with seven banks, four of which were quite small. Nashville Bank was less than one-fourth the size of third-ranking Commerce Union Bank, but almost seven times as large as the …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Corporations--Equity--Specific Performance of Stock Option Granted Because of Tax Advantage Feature of Option

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Property--Landlord-Tenant--Rabbinical Court Establishes Far-Reaching Standard of Landlords' Obligations to Tenants

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Taxation--Federal Estate Taxation--Under Treasury Regulation Section 20.2031-8(b), Value of Shares in Mutual Funds Is Public Offering Price on Date of Death Rather Than Redemption Price

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Taxation--Mineral Rights--Carried Interest Loses Deduction for Depletion, Depreciation, and Intangible Drilling Costs During Recoupment

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Conflict of Laws--Mexican Bilateral Divorce Decree Recognized Even Though Neither Party was a Mexican Domiciliary At Time of Divorce

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Constitutional Law--Section 504 of LMRDA a Bill of Attainder

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Corporations--DeFacto Merger--Dissenters' Rights--Construction of Merger and Amendment Statutes

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Criminal Law--Search and Seizure--Standing Granted for Dyer Act Prosecutions Without Allegation of Possession

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Damages--Restitutionary Relief for Breach of Contract Granted Under the Tucker Act to a Government Contractor

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Federal Employers' Liability Act--Applicability of "In Whole or in Part" Rule of Proximate Cause to Employer's Efforts To Prove Contributory Negligence Plaintiff brought suit under the Federal Employers' Liability Act'

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Multiple Corporations Under The Revenue Act Of 1964, James T. O'Hare

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is a maxim of taxation that where graduated tax rates are imposed on the income of a legal entity, tax avoidance in the form of income splitting will be attempted. This has proven true in the case of individuals' and trusts, and has more recently become true of corporations. For over a decade the law governing the tax status of affiliated corporations has been developing. The Revenue Act of 1964 introduces several important changes in the federal income tax treatment of multiple corporations. The purpose of this note is to examine the tax status of multiple corporations both before …

Corporations -- Effect Of Statements Made In Stock Prospectus, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the case of United Funds, Inc. v. Carter Products, Inc.,' the City Circuit Court of Baltimore, Maryland, handed down a decision which" broke new legal ground." The case, involving the effect of statements made in stock prospect uses on a corporation's future actions, has provoked surprisingly little discussion by legal commentators, and none at all on the "new" ground it broke. The purpose of this comment is to examine the Carter Products decision, to attempt to place it in proper legal perspective, and finally to evaluate it as a new development in the law.

Legislation, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Admission to the Bar--Legal Profession--Residence Requirements for Student Applicants to the Bar

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Corporations--Bylaws--Allocation of Power Between Shareholders and Directors

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Courts--Administration of Justice--Restricting the Appellate Jurisdiction of Courts of Last Resort

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Nonprofit Corporations--Definition

The Western Hemisphere Trade Corporation, Edward C. Blank, Ii

Vanderbilt Law Review

The existing complexity involved in the taxation of corporate income derived from sources without the United States has motivated Congress to undertake an extensive review of our governmental policy pertaining to this area of taxation. The particular provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 relating to this subject are merely an ad hoc accumulation, noticeably void of any systematic design. The intended purpose of the present congressional inquiry is to determine whether or not incentive taxation is a proper method by which this nation's foreign policies can be implemented. If it be deemed advisable to offer tax benefits to …

Tax And Other Legal Aspects Of The Corporate Practice Of Medicine, Jerry B. Martin

Vanderbilt Law Review

With the coming of regulations allowing doctors the tax advantages of corporate employees, the doctors will probably be more solidly behind the positions of the AMA in favor of the prohibition against the corporate practice of medicine. For example, at least one state group, the Tennessee State Medical Association, has recently adopted a resolution against practicing medicine in the corporate form, and there have been no recent reports of state associations taking the opposite position. The American Hospital Association which seems to lead the opposition to the corporate practice rule does not attack the rule as being intrinsically bad but …

Subchapter S And Its Effect On The Capitalization Of Corporations, Mortimer M. Caplin

Vanderbilt Law Review

Our federal tax laws encourage the creation of complex capital structures. "Thinning" capitalizations by issuing corporate indebtedness offers well known tax advantages to both shareholder and corporation.' Also, since 1954, issuing preferred stock on incorporation is a standard procedure for side-stepping the "bail-out" prohibitions of code section 306. A "good" capitalization from a tax viewpoint, therefore, will often involve a small base of common stock, a heavier layer of preferred stock and as much debt as the tax adviser believes will be given tax recognition.

The Tax Treatment Of Collapsible Corporations, Boris I. Bittker

Vanderbilt Law Review

Introductory.-Section 331 (a) (1) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a complete liquidation of a corporation is to be treated by the shareholder as a sale of his stock, which will ordinarily produce capital gain or loss, and section 334 (a) provides that the shareholders' basis for property acquired on the liquidation is its fair market value at the time of distribution. These rules, which are of long standing, led to the tax avoidance device known as the "collapsible corporation," which in its turn led,in 1950, to the enactment of what is now section 341. As will be seen, …

State Taxation Of Interstate Commerce, Gilbert S. Merritt Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Northwestern States Portland Cement Co. v. Minnesota,' the Supreme Court recently granted states the broad power to tax earnings of out-of-state corporations from business done within each state. Justice Clark, speaking for the majority, laid down the doctrine that "the entire net income of a corporation, generated by interstate as well as intrastate activities, may be fairly apportioned among the States for tax purposes by formulas utilizing in-state aspects of inter-state affairs." The purpose of this note is to analyze the doctrine, its background and possible economic consequences.

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

In a hearing before the Commissioner of Investigation of the City of New York, appellant refused to state whether he was then a member of the Communist Party and based his refusal to answer on the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. He was thereafter discharged as an employee of the New York Transit Authority pursuant to provisions of the New York Security Risk Law' which allows dismissal of employees of security agencies who are found to be of "doubtful trust and reliability." Without seeking administrative remedies, appellant brought a proceeding in the state court for reinstatement contending that …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Conflict of Laws--Torts--Choice of Law Required by Federal Tort Claims Act

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Constitutional Law--Equal Protection--Exemption of Veterans from Payment of Hunting and Fishing Fees

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Constitutional Law--Separation of Powers--Procedure for Removal of Judge an Interference with Judicial Process

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Constitutional Law--State Police Power--Restriction of Competition among Employment Agencies

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Contempt of Court--Summary Punishment of Direct Contempt--Attorney's Absence from Court

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Corporations--Inspection of Books and Records--Right of Former Director

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Criminal Law--Lotteries--Necessity of Consideration

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Domestic Relations--Alimony--Fixed Payments to Wife until Her Death or Remarriage as Basis of Claim against Husband's Estate

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Domestic Relations--Divorce and Alimony--Award of Alimony …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases--

Attorney and Client--Contingent Fee Contracts--Divorce Action

Corporations--Corporate Power--Contributions to Philanthropic Institutions

Corporations--Criminal Anti-Trust Action--Indemnification of Directors for Litigation Expenses

Evidence--Presumption of Law and Inference of Fact--Retrospective Presumption of Continuity

Federal Procedure--Class Actions--Discretion of Trial Court

Income Taxation--Deductions--"Ordinary and Necessary"--Expenses

Income Taxation--False Statements--Criminal Penalties

Labor Law--Arbitration Agreements--Specific Enforcement in Federal Courts

Military Law--Discharged Personnel--Power to Arrest for Serious Crimes

Military Law--Privilege Against Self Incrimination--Admissibility of Handwriting Specimen Obtained Involuntarily

Torts--Automobile Guest--Contributory Negligence as a Matter of Law

Workmen's Compensation--Employees' Altercations--Aggresso

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Attorney and Client--Unauthorized Practice of Law--Drafting of Legal Instruments by Realtors

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Bailments--Bailee for Hire--Validity of Contract Provision Limiting Liability for Negligence

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Brokers (Real Estate)--Statement that Principal Might Take Less than List Price as Breach of Fiduciary Obligation--Breach as Defense to Action for Commission

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Corporations--Preferred Stock--Cancellation of Accrued Dividends by Charter Amendment

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Criminal Law--Evidence--Admissibility of Uncommunicated Threats under Plea of Self-Defense

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Domestic Relations--Consortium Right of Wife to Sue for Loss Due to Negligent Injury to Husband

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Eminent Domain--Lessee as Condemnor--Requirement that Compensation be Given for Improvements to Land Made by Lessee

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Evidence--Unanswered Letters--Admissibility on …