Law Commons^™

Restoring The Promise Of The Shareholder Derivative Suit, John Matheson

Georgia Law Review

The most fundamental and perplexing question in all of corporate law is how to ensure that the board of directors and corporate officers faithfully serve the interests of the corporation and its owners, the shareholders. A primary means of answering that challenge has been the implication and enforcement of directors' and officers' fiduciary duties to the corporation by means of the shareholder derivative action. Almost from its inception, however, the derivative suit has been subject to jaundiced treatment by companies, legislatures, and courts. The result is a costly, tortured derivative suit process unrelated to the merits of the underlying claims …

All Blogs Go To Heaven: Preserving Valuable Digital Assets Without The Uniform Fiduciary Access To Digital Assets Act's Removal Of Third Party Privacy Protections, Elizabeth D. Barwick

Georgia Law Review

In the age of the Internet, most of us live our lives largely online. As such, one would expect a concomitant increase in concern for privacy, but this is not necessarily the case. It seems that the instantaneous and anonymous nature of the Internet has given rise to thoughtless sharing that simply did not exist when it was necessary to put pen to paper. Understanding that a great deal of our day-to-day activities are now carried out over the Internet, it makes sense that our families and heirs would want or need access to our accounts in the event of …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Blue Jay (Or, An Odd-Ode To A Uniform System Of Citation), Dan T. Coenen

Georgia Law Review

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over a quaint and curious tract of long-forgotten legal lore- While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at the nearby door. "What the heck is that," I muttered, "tapping at the nearby door?" Only this and nothing more.

'White-Collar Crime": Still Hazy After All These Years, Lucian E. Dervan, Ellen S. Podgor

Georgia Law Review

With a seventy-five year history of sociological and later legal roots, the term "white collar crime" remains an ambiguous concept that academics, policy makers, law enforcement personnel and defense counsel are unable to adequately define. Yet the use of the term "white collar crime" skews statistical reporting and sentencing for this conduct. This Article provides a historical overview of its linear progression and then a methodology for a new architecture in examining this conduct. It separates statutes into clear-cut white collar offenses and hybrid statutory offenses, and then applies this approach with an empirical study that dissects cases prosecuted under …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employer Escape Hatch Closed In Georgia: How The Interpretation Of Georgia's Apportionment Statute In Zaldivar Prohibits Employers From Using Respondeat Superior To Eschew Direct Negligence Claims, Michael D. Alfano Jr.

Georgia Law Review

In Zaldivar v. Prickett, Prickett (plaintiff)was working on behalf of his employer (Overhead Door) when he collided with Zaldivar (defendant). Zaldivar filed a "Notice of Fault of Nonparty" under Georgia's apportionment statute; this had to effect of requiring a jury to consider the fault of Overhead Door, which had recently received three anonymous phone calls complaining about Prickett's driving. The Georgia Supreme Court held that Georgia's Apportionment statute required that fault be assigned to Overhead Door, despite Prickett's inability to recover from Overhead Door. In this Note, I vary the facts of Zaldivar: Zaldivar becomes Klutzy Kellie; Prickett becomes Prudent …

Causation Actually, J. S. Dillbary

Georgia Law Review

This Article debunks the consensus that in concerted
action, concurrent causes, and alternative liability
situations, the actual causation requirement is always
missing. While courts and scholars insist that in these
cases tort law holds liable parties who clearly did not
cause the victim's harm, this Article offers a novel
approach. Using a simple model and applying it to
leading decisions, this Article shows that a party who did
not and could not even potentially injure the victim could
nevertheless be a but-for reason for the harm. The Article
also challenges claims that causation theories like
concerted action, substantial factor and …

Cybersecurity On My Mind: Protecting Georgia Consumers From Data Breaches, Maggie L. Mcmichael

Georgia Law Review

In a world where vast amounts of personal information
are obtained and stored by countless organizations and
businesses in the public and private sector, data breaches,

due to negligence or nefarious hacking, are a far too
common occurrence. The results of a data breach can be
serious and widespread, from public humiliation to
identity theft and national security crises. In an effort to
protect consumers from the potentially devastating effects
of data breaches, the Federal Trade Commission has
begun to take enforcement action against businesses whose
data security practices are alleged to be unfair and
deceptive. Theoretically, states can take …

Talking Textualism, Practicing Pragmatism: Rethinking The Supreme Court's Approach To Statutory Interpretation, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.

Georgia Law Review

The Supreme Court's general approach to statutory
interpretation is analytically incoherent. On the one
hand, the Court has expressly endorsed "textualism":
enforcing the plain meaning (i.e., ordinary usage) of a
statute's words, and therefore refusing to consider non-
textual evidence unless the language is unclear. On the
other hand, the Court has implicitly applied
'oragmatism"-reaching the best practical result after
examining not only a statute's text but also Congress's
intent (as revealed by legislative history), its overall
purposes, precedent, and policy.
The two cases upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
illustrate this practice of purporting to follow textualism,
but then …

Let My People Grow: Putting A Number On Strict Scrutiny In The Wake Of Holt V. Hobbs, Dana A. Schwartzenfeld

Georgia Law Review

Beards have always played an important role in human
society, especially in the religious context. One man's
beard even got him in front of the United States Supreme
Court. In Holt v. Hobbs, the Court decided that a prisoner
had a constitutional right to grow a one-half-inch beard
for religious purposes. In making the decision, the Court
made clear that the prisoner's religious interest far
outweighed any security threat that such a short beard
could pose to the prison. The Court declined to go any
further, however, in clarifying the beard length at which
the scales would begin to tip …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Most Precious Right: Equal Protection, Voter Photo Identification, And The Battle Brewing In Texas, Emily V. Cox

Georgia Law Review

On a Tuesday in November, millions of Americans show
up and cast their votes, even in the face of cynicism,
perceived futility, and disappointment with the politicians
in Washington. It is the birthright of every citizen, and
there is simply nothing more fundamentally American.
The future of this right is now uncertain in the wake of the
United States Supreme Court decisions Crawford and
Shelby County. This Note suggests finding certainty by
re-framing the current test for the constitutionality of state
voting restrictions, the Anderson-Burdick Balancing Test.
This new imagining of the current test hinges on
identifying the nature of …

Privileging Professional Insider Trading, Sarah Baumgartel

Georgia Law Review

This Article explores insider trading law's increasing
focus on personal relationships, and the way in which the
law has come to privilege professional over
nonprofessional insider trading. The Article discusses
how, in an effort to expand insider trading liability, the
government has sought to impose legal duties of loyalty
and confidentiality on a host of personal relationships not

otherwise subject to law-effectively basing civil and
criminal penalties on "corruption" in purely personal
relationships. At the same time, courts have adopted a
business property rationale regardingthe use of nonpublic
information and declined to prevent companies from
disclosing valuable nonpublic information to …

When Peace Is Not The Goal Of A Class Action Settlement, D. Theodore Rave

Georgia Law Review

On the conventional account, a class action settlement is a vehicle through which the defendant buys peace from the class action lawyer. That single transaction will preclude future litigation by all class members. But peace, at least through preclusion, may not always be the goal. In a recent Fair Credit Reporting Action (FCRA) case, In re Trans Union Privacy Litigation, the parties agreed to a class action settlement that did not preclude individual claims. The 190 million class members surrendered only their rights to participate in a future class or aggregate action; they remained free to march right back into …

Table Of Contents

Georgia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Celebrating Fifty Years Of The Georgia Law Review, Michael Sharp

Georgia Law Review

Twenty-five years ago, I was the editor-in-chief of the Georgia Law Review. That was a most unlikely place for me to be (that said, it ended up being one of the best learning experiences of my career). As a child, I had aspired to be a lawyer, but by the time I graduated from college I had decided to go to business school because the allure of Wall Street (read: dollars) proved too hard to resist. Instead of trading briefs, I traded bonds. Time prevents me from outlining the path that ultimately led me to law school, but two things …

You've Got Legal Mail: Applying Constitutional Protections To Attorney-Inmate E-Mail Communications, Gregory R. Steele

Georgia Law Review

Several U.S. Attorney's offices have begun to read e-mails between defense attorneys and their inmate-clients sent through the Bureau of Prisons TRULINCS system. District courts have been split on how they address the issue. This Note argues that the practice of reading attorney-inmate e- mails violates the Sixth Amendment. It specifically argues that the legal mail doctrine should be applied to invalidate this practice. It then argues the Bureau of Prisons should promulgate new regulations for legal e-mail that ensure compliance with the constitutional requirements of the newly applied legal e-mail doctrine.

Managing Cyber Risks, Kristin N. Johnson

Georgia Law Review

Cyber risks are as pervasive as the technology that facilitates their execution. The threat of cyber attacks or plots to deploy cyber weapons against critical government entities, private businesses and domestic and international infrastructure resources creates a most significant risk management concern. Pernicious,perilous and ubiquitous, cyber risks have merged as the newest risk management frontier. While the consequences of cyber attacks against individual financial institutions may be alarming, the interconnectedness of the largest financial institutions in the global economy and their shared dependence on technology render these businesses and the systems that execute their transactions shockingly vulnerable. Because of the …

From Ripe To Rotten: An Examination Of The Continued Utility Of The Ripeness Doctrine In Light Of The Modern Standing Doctrine, Michael A. Delgaudio

Georgia Law Review

First year law students are generally taught that the justiciability doctrines of standing and ripeness perform distinct functions that work together to help courts determine whether an Article III "case or controversy" exists in particular suits. The standing doctrine, it is said, assists courts in this inquiry by determining who can bring suit, whereas the ripeness doctrine assists them by determining when someone can bring suit. This theoretical distinction in the doctrines' functions is based on the original forms the standing and ripeness doctrines took. Over the course of the past century, however, the Supreme Court has altered the standing …

Introduction, Jere W. Morehead

Georgia Law Review

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Georgia Law Review at the University of Georgia, I pause to consider the impact that my legal scholarship and training have made on my long career in higher education. Following six years as an Assistant United States Attorney and twelve years as a faculty member, I accepted my first position in administration at UGA as Acting Executive Director of Legal Affairs in 1998. This transition from the faculty to administration proved to be a seminal moment in my career. I would go on to serve in a number of other senior administrative …

In Appreciation Of Fifty Years Of Legal Scholarship, Peter B. Rutledge

Georgia Law Review

Over fifty years, the Georgia Law Review has provided a platform for students and scholars to help shape legal discourse in the state and nation. Throughout my career as an academic and, more recently, an administrator, I have had the privilege of working with groups of individuals who have helped shape its reputation over that half-century. In this brief reflection, I thank those three groups.

Branding Taxation, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Jeffrey A. Maine

Georgia Law Review

Branding is important not only to businesses, but also to the economy. The intellectual property laws and tax laws should thus further the legitimate goals of encouraging and protecting brand investments while maintaining a sound tax base. Intellectual property protections for branding depend on advertisement and enforcement, both of which demand significant amounts of private investment by firms. Although one would expect similar tax treatments of both categories of investment, the categories are actually treated as vastly different for federal income tax purposes. Under the current tax system, advertising costs incurred to foster brand equality are generally expensed whereas litigation …

The Elephant Not In The Room: Apportionment To Nonparties In Georgia, Michael K. Newman

Georgia Law Review

Apportionment to nonparties generally concerns defendants alleging that certain nonparties are also at fault for the plaintiffs harm. A defendant's successful allocation of fault to a nonparty results in the defendant shedding a portion of their liability toward the plaintiff. If joint and several liability has been abolished, then this means that the plaintiff will collect less damages from the named defendant. This Note addresses how current practice in Georgia allows the defendant to do this with very little effort. Specifically, this Note takes issue with a recent Georgia Court of Appeals decision, Double View Ventures, LLC v. Polite, 757 …

The Enduring Legacy Of Modern Efficient Market Theory After Halliburton V. John, Mark Klock

Georgia Law Review

In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court approved the fraud on the market theory for securities trading in an efficient market thus enabling securities class action plaintiffs to establish their required reliance element of the case through a rebuttable presumption. Basic v. Levinson held that efficient markets incorporate publicly disseminated information and investors who purchased or sold securities in an efficient market therefore relied on any publicly disseminated misinformation. For more than a quarter century since Basic, the efficient market theory has sustained a barrage of assaults from commentators who object to the use of economic theory in legal decision making …

What Is (And Isn't) Healthism?, Jessica L. Roberts, Elizabeth W. Leonard

Georgia Law Review

What does it mean to discriminateon the basis of health status? Health can, of course, speak to a number of things, such as the length of our lives, our ability to perform mentally and physically, our need for health care, and our risk of injury and incapacity. But the mere relevance of a particular attribute does not mean that considering it should be legally permissible. This Article explores when differentiating on the basis of health is acceptable- perhaps even desirable-and, by contrast, when it is normatively problematic. While we acknowledge that differentiations on the basis of health status can be …

Schools Are Employers Too: Rethinking The Institutional Liability Standard In Title Ix Teacher-On-Student Sexual Harassment Suits, Kathleen Mary E. Mayer

Georgia Law Review

To be entitled to any remedy under Title IX, students bringing private causes of action must show that their schools acted with actual knowledge and deliberate indifference. That liability standard is applied to both teacher-on-student and peer-on-peer harassment claims, without regard for an educational institution's relative control over the conduct of its employees versus its students. Schools should be held to a stricter standard in teacher-on-student cases than in peer-on-peer cases for numerous reasons of both law and policy. Considering that Title VII standards of liability do turn on relative control, a quirky imbalance results whereby a school is more …

The Motor City Needs Oil (On Canvas): An Argument In Support Of Detroit's "Grand Bargain", Jonathan A. Weeks

Georgia Law Review

Now the largest municipality in the history of the United States to go bankrupt, Detroit very nearly lost its famous art collection to its creditors. To protect its collection, Detroit proposed what is now often referred to as the "grand bargain," which involved creating a corporation that paid $816 million for the entire art collection provided that the amount paid was earmarked for pension holders in Detroit. The deal resulted in realizing two goals: keeping the art collection in Detroit and protecting pensioners who faced a huge loss in the wake of the bankruptcy. Critics of the grand bargain claim …

Introduction, Rebecca H. White

Georgia Law Review

It is my pleasure, and honor, to congratulate the Georgia Law Review on its fiftieth anniversary. Throughout my 27 years on our law school's faculty, including over a decade of service as dean, I watched with pride as the Georgia Law Review grew in prestige and stature, helping to enhance the academic reputation of our law school. Each of our graduates, whether a member of the Georgia Law Review or not, benefits from having a review of its caliber. Law is an unusual academic discipline; our most sought after publication venues are student edited reviews. As academics, we put our …

Underwriting Sustainable Homeownership: The Federal Housing Administration And The Low Down Payment Loan, David Reiss

Georgia Law Review

The United States Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has been a versatile tool of government since it was created during the Great Depression. The FHA was created in large part to inject liquidity into a moribund mortgage market. It succeeded wonderfully, with rapid growth during the late 1930s. The federal government repositioned it a number of times over the following decades to achieve a variety of additional social goals. These goals included supporting civilian mobilization during World War II; helping veterans returning from that war; stabilizing urban housing markets during the 1960s; and expanding minority homeownership rates during the 1990s. It …