Law Commons^™

Misreading Menetti: The Case Does Not Help You Avoid Liability For Your Own Fraud, Val D. Ricks

St. Mary's Law Journal

Several decades ago, an incorrect legal idea surfaced in Texas jurisprudence: that business entity actors are immune from liability for fraud that they themselves commit, as if the entity is solely responsible. Though the Supreme Court of Texas has rejected that result several times, it keeps coming back. The most recent manifestation is as a construction of Texas’s unique veil-piercing statute. Many lawyers have suggested that this view of the veil-piercing statute originated in Menetti v. Chavers, a San Antonio Court of Appeals case decided in 1998. Menetti has in fact played a prominent role in the movement to …

The Bleeding Edge: Theranos And The Growing Risk Of An Unregulated Private Securities Market, Theodore O'Brien

University of Miami Business Law Review

America’s securities laws and regulations, most of which were created in the early twentieth century, are increasingly irrelevant to the most dynamic emerging companies. Today, companies with sufficient investor interest can raise ample capital through private and exempt offerings, all while eschewing the public exchanges and the associated burdens of the initial public offering, public disclosures, and regulatory scrutiny. Airbnb, Inc., for example, quickly tapped private investors for $1 billion in April of 2020, adding to the estimated $4.4 billion the company had previouslyraised.2 The fundamental shift from public to private companies is evidenced by the so-called “unicorns,” the more …

"Tone At The Top" And The Communication Of Corporate Values: Lost In Translation?, Alfredo Contreras, Aiyesha Dey, Claire Hill

Seattle University Law Review

Many firms that were involved in large-scale corporate frauds had strong corporate codes of ethics and values statements. These firms were also subject to considerable social pressures to be mindful of their reputations; frauds are “negative reputational events.” Notably, the frauds not infrequently involved possible, or even outright, illegality. Why didn’t these strong forces—strong codes of ethics and firms’ clear interest in maintaining a good reputation, as well as the fear of legal liability—do more to prevent the frauds? It seems hard to imagine that serious misdeeds could occur if the top management was committed to preventing them. But top …

Nonprofit Governance: The Basics, Lawrence J. Trautman, Janet Ford

Akron Law Review

Nonprofit organizations are prevalent in today’s economy, and many are governed by individuals who have been chosen on the basis of their advocacy of or contributions to various nonprofit causes rather than on the basis of business experience or acumen. Yet effective nonprofit governance, while presenting concerns unique to nonprofits, also presents many of the same concerns as does governance of for-profit entities. This article seeks to provide a primer for nonprofit organizations that need to recruit effective governance talent. First, we discuss the nature of nonprofits, their impact on the business landscape, and their similarities to and differences from …

Guardians Of The Galaxy: How Shareholder Lawyers Won Big For Their Clients And Vindicated The Integrity Of Our Economy, Daniel J. Morrissey

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

Securities class actions are the most economically significant form of litigation. Highly skilled lawyers expend huge sums and relentless efforts in these matters but because of the costs involved and the potential for enormous liability very few of them ever make it to trial. This Article is the story of one that did, a mammoth fraud where a jury returned a $1.5 billion verdict that, with interest, increased to almost $2.5 billion by the time the case reached the appellate court.

There the Court upheld the shareholders’ theory that their damages could be measured by the excessive amounts they had …

The Crisis In Corporate Governance: 2002 Style, Robert W. Hamilton

Maine Law Review

The period from November 1, 2001 to October 1, 2002 has been an astonishing period for corporate governance in many respects. It began with the completely unexpected collapse of Enron Corporation on November 1, 2001, followed almost immediately thereafter by widely publicized downward profit restatements and bankruptcy filings by a significant number of telecommunication companies. Since November 1, 2001, there have been numerous public reports of fraud, misconduct, and scandals by directors of other well-known corporations such as Lucent Technologies, Kmart, Merck & Co., and Rite Aid Corporation. There also have been disclosures of many instances in which corporate officers …

Corporate Purpose And Litigation Risk In Publicly Held U.S. Benefit Corporations, Joan Macleod Heminway

Seattle University Law Review

With the likely prospect of publicly held U.S. benefit corporations in mind, this Article engages in a thought experiment. Specifically, the Article views the publicly held U.S. benefit corporation from the perspective of litigation risk. It first situates, in Part I, the U.S. benefit corporation in its structural and governance context as an incorporated business association. Corporate purpose and the attendant managerial authority, responsibilities, and fiduciary duties are the key points of reference. Then, in Part II, the Article seeks to identify and describe the salient, unique litigation risks that may be associated with publicly held corporations with the structural …

Gibney V. Evolution Marketing Research, Llc, Justin Offermann

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Whistling In Silence: The Implications Of Arbitration On Qui Tam Claims Under The False Claims Act, Mathew Andrews

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

For nearly twenty years, corporate defendants have sought unsuccessfully to use arbitration to roll back protections for whistleblowers suing under federal law. The state and federal judiciaries have long stymied these efforts, on the grounds that defendants cannot force the Government's claims into the secretive forum of arbitration. In January 2013, this protection came to an end. A federal court ruled for the first time that a whistleblower suing on behalf of the United States must pursue its action in arbitration. Five months later, this trend continued as federal courts have compelled arbitration of state law qui tam actions. This …

Securities Class Actions And Bankrupt Companies, James J. Park

Michigan Law Review

Securities class actions are often criticized as wasteful strike suits that target temporary fluctuations in the stock prices of otherwise healthy companies. The securities class actions brought by investors of Enron and WorldCom, companies that fell into bankruptcy in the wake of fraud, resulted in the recovery of billions of dollars in permanent shareholder losses and provide a powerful counterexample to this critique. An issuer's bankruptcy may affect how judges and parties perceive securities class actions and their merits, yet little is known about the subset of cases where the company is bankrupt. This is the first extensive empirical study …

Private Equity & Private Suits: Using 10b-5 Antifraud Suits To Discipline A Transforming Industry, Kenneth J. Black

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

This note demonstrates why private equity will no longer be able to avoid private investor suits as it has (mostly) done in the past and explores the industry’s response to a growing number of investor suits. Notably, the industry has already begun to shift its strategy from regulatory avoidance to regulatory capture, at least in part to avoid investor suits. Given these changes, this note proposes that the best way to maintain discipline in the transforming private equity market is to protect the ability of investors to bring private suits.

The New Uniform Statute Of Limitations For Federal Securities Fraud Actions: Its Evolution, Its Impact, And A Call For Reform, Anthony Michael Sabino

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Determining The Proper Pleading Standard Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act Of 1995 After In Re Silicon Graphics , Erin Brady

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Securities Fraud, Officer And Director Bars, And The "Unfitness" Inquiry After Sarbanes-Oxley, Jon Carlson

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Attorneys As Debt Relief Agencies: Constitutional Considerations, Marisa Terranova

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Getting The Word Out About Fraud: A Theoretical Analysis Of Whistleblowing And Insider Trading, Jonathan Macey

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to show that corporate whistleblowing is not analytically or functionally distinguishable from insider trading when such trading is based on "whistleblower information," that is, the information a whistleblower might disclose to the authorities. In certain contexts, both insider trading and whistleblowing, if incentivized, would reduce the incidence of corporate pathologies such as fraud and corruption. In light of this analysis, it is peculiar that whistleblowing is encouraged and protected, while insider trading on whistleblower information is not only discouraged but criminalized. Often, insider trading will be far more effective than whistleblowing at bringing fraud …

Still "Ain't No Glory In Pain": How The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 And Other 1990s Deregulation Facilitated The Market Crash Of 2002, André Douglas Pond Cummings

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

A Business Ethics Perspective On Sarbanes-Oxley And The Organizational Sentencing Guidelines, David Hess

Michigan Law Review

This Article assesses the ability of Sarbanes-Oxley and other recent changes in the law and stock exchange listing requirements to reduce the incidence of fraud and to increase the reporting of financial misconduct. It begins by examining the individual decision-makers within a corporation and analyzing their intentions and behaviors under the Theory of Planned Behavior. It then examines the ability of the organization to influence the employees' intentions and behaviors through codes of ethics and compliance programs, and finds growing support for the usefulness of integrity based compliance programs. Finally, the Article considers how the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and Organizational Sentencing …

Conscripting Attorneys To Battle Corporate Fraud Without Shields Or Armor? Reconsidering Retaliatory Discharge In Light Of Sarbanes-Oxley, Kim T. Vu

Michigan Law Review

This Note advocates that federal courts should allow attorneys to bring retaliatory discharge claims under SOX. Traditional rationales prohibiting the claims of retaliatory discharge by attorneys do not apply in the context of Sarbanes-Oxley. This Note contends that the Department of Labor and the federal courts should interpret the whistleblower provisions of § 806 as protecting attorneys who report under § 307. Assuring reporting attorneys that they have protection from retaliation will encourage them to whistleblow and thereby advance SOX's policy goal of ferreting out corporate fraud. Part I explores the legal landscape of retaliatory discharge suits by attorneys. This …

Breach Of Fiduciary Duty As Securities Fraud: Sec V. Chancellor Corp., Carl W. Mills

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Note: Get The Balance Right: Finding An Equilibrium Between Charitable Solicitation, Fraud, And The First Amendment In Illinois Ex Rel. Madigan V. Telemarketing Associates, Inc., 538 U.S. 600 (2003), Christopher R. Sullivan

William Mitchell Law Review

This Note first examines the history of the relevant law in the areas of fraud, charitable solicitation, and prior restraints. Specifically, it examines the three leading cases on regulation of charitable fundraising speech: Schaumburg, Munson, and Riley. Next, the Note discusses the history and holding of Illinois ex rel. Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates, Inc. Next, this Note will explore the holding in Telemarketing Associates in light of Schaumburg and its progeny. This analysis includes a survey of recent and pending fraud litigation against charities and their fundraisers, and a review of the Federal Trade Commission's “Operation Phoney Philanthropy.” Finally, the …

Corporate Governance Issues, Peter Peterson, John Foster, Jeffrey M. Colon, William Treanor

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Proposals For Insider Trading Regulation After The Fall Of The House Of Enron, James P. Jalil

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Multinational Enforcement Of U.S. Securities Laws: The Need For The Clear And Restrained Scope Of Extraterritorial Subject-Matter Jurisdiction., Kun Young Chang

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address, Susan S. Bies, Alan Rechtschaffen

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

On The Liability Of Corporate Directors To Holders Of Securities For Illegal Corporate Acts: Can The Tension Between The "Net-Loss" And "No-Duty-To-Disclose" Rules Be Resolved, Geoffrey Rapp

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Antitrust Enfocement And High-Technology Markets, William J. Baer, David A. Balto

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

Although the antitrust laws apply to all industries, the application must be tempered in each case by the myriad ways in which competition can be modified by structural, behavioral, technological, regulatory, and other characteristics. The Commission applies the antitrust laws with sensitivity to the special characteristics of high-tech industries and of intellectual property, but also with the recognition that--as in other industries--competition plays an important role in spurring innovation and in spreading the benefits of that innovation to consumers. This focus is not new. This balanced approach has roots that go back at least to the 1977 Antitrust Guide to …

Banks And Banking - Bank May Finance The Involuntary Takeover Of One Of Its Borrowers And May, In Making Its Loan Decision, Rely On Confidential Information Received From The Takeover Target, John C. Sullivan

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Abandoning Bankruptcy Law's "Identity Of Interest" Exception, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Section I of this Note discusses the goals and weaknesses of the identity of interest exception; Section II explains the advantages of consolidation and novation; and the final Section suggests a way to separate cases where novation is appropriate from those where consolidation is the preferred remedy.

Securities Law - Rule 10b-5 - Oral Executory Contract To Purchase Securities Held To Provide Sufficient Basis For Standing To Bring Private 10b-5 Action, And Fraud Occuring During The Pendency Fo The Executory Contract Held To Be In Connection With The Purchase Of Securities, Lisa S. Hunter

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.