Law Commons^™

Citizens United, Corporate Personhood And Corporate Power: The Tension Between Constitutional Law And Corporate Law, Susanna Ripken

Susanna K. Ripken

No abstract provided.

Predictions, Projections, And Precautions: Conveying Cautionary Warnings In Corporate Forward-Looking Statements, Susanna Ripken

Susanna K. Ripken

This article discusses the problems that are created when corporate insiders make public predictions about the future prospects of their business. Investors crave these types of forward-looking corporate disclosures because investors use them to make judgments about the future profitability of companies. Corporations, however, are often reluctant to make predictions and projections because sometimes the predictions fail to come true, and investors may then sue corporations for misleading the market. Congress enacted a controversial statutory safe harbor designed to encourage corporations to make forward-looking statements. The safe harbor immunizes corporations from liability so long as they include meaningful cautionary warnings …

The Provisional Director Remedy For Corporate Deadlock: A Proposed Model Statute, Susanna Ripken

Susanna K. Ripken

The article discusses a unique remedy for shareholder and director deadlock within corporations: the appointment of provisional directors to corporate boards. Provisional directors are neutral third parties who are appointed by courts to act temporarily as tie-breaking directors in corporations paralyzed by deadlock. Provisional directors possess the same rights and powers of ordinary directors to vote at meetings. The provisional director remedy is a valuable dispute resolution mechanism that shares similarities with other alternative forms of dispute resolution, including arbitration, mediation, and a hybrid form called mediation-arbitration.

The appointment of a provisional director raises concerns about both the autonomy rights …

Characteristics Of Soulless Persons: The Applicability Of The Character Evidence Rule To Corporations, Susanna Ripken

Susanna K. Ripken

The article discusses the nature of corporate personhood and the propriety of using certain types of evidence to prove corporate misconduct. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404, the character evidence rule, evidence of a person's bad character generally is not admissible to prove that a person acted in conformity with that character on a particular occasion. Although the rule serves to protect individuals in both criminal and civil cases, no consensus exists as to whether the character evidence rule should apply with equal force to corporations. This article argues that the ban on character evidence should not be extended to …

Conflicting Ideologies Of Group Litigation: Who May Challenge Settlements In Class Actions And Derivative Suits?, Susanna Ripken

Susanna K. Ripken

The article discusses the rights of unnamed class members in class actions and shareholders in corporate derivative suits to appeal court orders approving the settlement of their claims. As representative actions, class actions and derivative suits by definition necessarily determine the rights and duties of absent parties. Unnamed class members and shareholders must rely on the named plaintiff representative to protect their interests, especially when the case is settled prior to a judgment on the merits. The federal courts are sharply divided over the question whether absent parties who are dissatisfied with the class action or derivative suit settlement may …