Business Organizations Law Commons^™

The Oregon Stewardship Trust: A New Type Of Purpose Trust That Enables Steward-Ownership Of A Business, Susan N. Gary

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Urban Front For Shareholder Primacy, Anne Choike

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

The hundredth anniversary of Dodge v. Ford marks an occasion to reflect upon what, if anything, has changed about shareholder primacy in a century. Seizing this opportunity, in this Article I analyze new local laws and ordinances that promote stakeholder governance and engagement, which seek to protect the interests of non-shareholder constituencies such as workers, the environment, and the communities in which corporations operate, among others. In doing so, I argue that such local laws meaningfully differ from traditional stakeholder protections, most significantly in the way that they weaken managerial accountability to shareholders. The emergence of these city laws challenges …

Dankruptcy: When The Green Runs Out, Marijuana Debtors Have Few Options, Jorge J. Rodriguez

Arkansas Law Review

The legalized marijuana industry is lucrative but surrounded with uncertainties. The divergence between state and federal law has pushed this industry into a state of limbo. Furthermore, at the federal level, the lack of enforcing the prohibition has only exacerbated the uncertainty. Historically, the federal government has taken a very relaxed approach and allowed marijuana businesses to operate with minimal interference. As a result, there is a thriving legalized marijuana industry operating throughout the majority of the United States. However, there are many obstacles which plague and threaten the future of this relatively young industry. Of particular importance, and the …

Attorney–Client Privilege In Bad Faith Insurance Claims: The Cedell Presumption And A Necessary National Resolution, Klien Hilliard

Seattle University Law Review

Attorney–client privilege is one of the most important aspects of our legal system. It is one of the oldest privileges in American law and is codified both at the national and state level. Applying to both individual persons and corporations, this expanded privilege covers a wide breadth of clients. However, this broad privilege can sometimes become blurred in relationships between the corporation and the individuals it serves. Specifically, insurance companies and those they cover have complex relationships, as the insurer possesses a quasi-fiduciary relationship in relation to the insured. This type of relationship requires that the insurer act in good …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Pushing The Envelope: Salzberg V. Sciabacucchi And Delaware's Evolving View Of The Internal Affairs Doctrine, Mark J. Loewenstein

Publications

In January, 2020, the Delaware Supreme Court handed down its decision in Salzberg v. Sciabacucchi, upholding a provision in a certificate of incorporation that designated the federal courts as the exclusive jurisdiction for the litigation of claims under the federal Securities Act of 1933. The inclusion of these provisions in Delaware charters and bylaws – often referred to as “Federal Forum Provisions” or FFPs – raised important questions as to the reach of the internal affairs doctrine. This doctrine provides that the jurisdiction of incorporation regulates the internal affairs of its corporations: the relationship among and between the corporate …

Criminal Usury And Its Impact On New York Business Transactions, Christopher Basile

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Corporate Chameleon, Megan Wischmeier Shaner

University of Richmond Law Review

This Article seeks to address what is currently missing from corporate law—a clear way of determining “officer” status as that distinct legal role is contemplated in corporate jurisprudence. Part I discusses the three primary actors involved in the internal governance of the corporation—directors, stockholders, and officers—and how the law defines each one. While corporate law clearly contemplates officers as a distinct role, a quick comparison of the three reveals a failure to identify with any precision the bounds of “officer” status. Part II looks to other areas of the law for guidance in defining and identifying the officers of the …

The State Qui Tam To Enforce Employment Law, Andrew Elmore

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the states' response to Epic Systems v. Lewis, which held enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) mandatory arbitration agreements that require employees to waive their participation in collective and class actions in employment contracts. Recent evidence shows that mandatory arbitration can erode access to justice for and deterrence of employment law claims. States in response are considering qui tam statutes, which assign the state interests in penalties for employment law violations to private enforcers in return for a bounty, to substitute for the loss of class action enforcement after Epic Systems.

These statutes can …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

“Fair Enough”? Revising The Yellowstone Injunction To Fit New York’S Commercial Leasing Landscape And Promote Judicial Economy, Gabriel W. Block

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The Yellowstone injunction is an equitable remedy that tolls any applicable cure period and gives tenants a better opportunity to maintain their leasehold when they have defaulted under their lease. The remedy is available to commercial tenants in New York City and to commercial and residential tenants throughout the State. This Note examines the Yellowstone injunction in the context of New York City’s commercial tenants, who employ it most frequently and benefit most from its protections. This Note examines the development and application of the Yellowstone injunction and proposes changing the doctrine to exclude cases of monetary defaults and expired …

The Other Janus And The Future Of Labor’S Capital, David H. Webber

Faculty Scholarship

Two forms of labor’s capital—union funds and public pension funds—have profoundly reshaped the corporate world. They have successfully advocated for shareholder empowerment initiatives like proxy access, declassified boards, majority voting, say on pay, private fund registration, and the CEO-to-worker pay ratio. They have also served as lead plaintiffs in forty percent of federal securities fraud and Delaware deal class actions. Today, much-discussed reforms like revised shareholder proposal rules and mandatory arbitration threaten two of the main channels by which these shareholders have exercised power. But labor’s capital faces its greatest, even existential, threats from outside corporate law. This Essay addresses …

Corporate And Business Law, Laurence V. Parker Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

This year there were a number of significant legislative changes to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (“VSCA”) and the Virginia Limited Liability Company Act. Part I discusses certain statutory changes related to Virginia Corporations. Part II summarizes the changes to VSCA, including changes related to ratification of defective corporate acts, appraisal rights in asset sale transactions, multiple changes related to interspecies transactions, improving and making the effect of merger, domestication, and conversion language more uniform, refining the process for abandoning fundamental transactions, regulating the second step merger following a tender offer, modifying the corporate opportunity doctrine, allowing for a court …

Defining A State-Owned Enterprise In International Investment Agreements, Mark Mclaughlin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The objective of this article is to establish a unified conceptual framework for State-owned enterprises in international investment law. I hope to furnish drafters and negotiators with the tools to define such enterprises in accordance with their policy concerns. The central thesis is that five definitional criteria must be considered: (i) separate legal personality; (ii) extent and form of control; (iii) eligible governmental units; (iv) nature of activity; and (v) purpose of activity. While variations within each criterion can reflect the policy choices of contracting parties, failure to adequately delimit the boundaries of all five will confer discretion on arbitrators …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unintentional Irony In Landmark Decisions Of The Delaware Supreme Court Regarding Corporate Law, Steven J. Cleveland

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Three landmark decisions of the Delaware Supreme Court exhibit unintentional irony: Beam v. Stewart, Smith v. Van Gorkom, and Paramount Communications Inc. v. Time Inc. In Beam, the court concluded that, regarding the decision of whether to seek remedy against Martha Stewart, her fellow directors would not have jeopardized their reputations for the minimal gain of continuing their business and personal relationships with her. Ironically, the court failed to acknowledge that Martha Stewart—in trading on material nonpublic information, which gave rise to the corporate claim against her—jeopardized her reputation (ultimately losing hundreds of millions of dollars and her freedom) for …

Crowdfunding In Arkansas? Yes, You Can!, Carol Goforth

Arkansas Law Notes

Following enactment of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (also known as the JOBS Act) in 2012, the SEC expanded the options for issuers seeking an exemption from the registration requirement for the sale of securities under federal law, while simultaneously preempting inconsistent state law. One such innovation was Regulation Crowdfunding, generally referred to as Reg. CF, which currently allows compliant issuers to raise up to $1,070,000 in any 12-month period by seeking relatively small investments from a large number of investors.

Marijuana Business Attorneys And The Professional Deference Standard, Andrew Dixon

Arkansas Law Review

Imagine that you practice as an attorney in the State of Arkansas. A client solicits your advice about opening a marijuana dispensary or cultivation center. The client might want you to assist him in filing a dispensary application with the State. On the other hand, she might want you to negotiate a commercial lease or to provide services to ensure compliance with municipal zoning laws. Although Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment permitting medical marijuana sales, you provide a clear warning to your client: possessing, manufacturing, selling, and distributing marijuana remains a federal crime. After these precautions, however, you proceed …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Private Ordering And Improving Information Flow To The Board Of Directors: The Duty To Inform Bylaw, Jennifer O'Hare

University of Richmond Law Review

It seems that almost every day there is another report of a corporate scandal at a public company. Whether the scandal involves sexual harassment by senior management or widespread illegal conduct by employees, the first question asked by investors and the media is usually, “Where was the board?” And the board’s response is almost always, “We didn’t know.” Directors of public companies rely on officers to provide the information the board needs to manage the corporation, but, strangely enough, officers may not even be legally required to provide information to the board. The Delaware General Corporation Law is silent on …

Partnership Lost, Christine Hurt

University of Richmond Law Review

A century ago, two distinct business entities existed that could best be defined by describing either one of them as simply not the other. The corporation and the general partnership were mirror images of one another and opposites on a spectrum of corporate governance, limited liability, and taxation. Partnerships, seen as small, livelihood enterprises between active-owner partners, had personal liability but pass-through taxation. Corporations, seen as larger, capital-intensive enterprises with passive-owner shareholders, had limited liability but double taxation. The tax distinctions survive today, but the stereotypical partnership does not; in fact, the modern partnership is more corporation-like than partnership-like.

Today, …

Private Ordering In The Old Dominion: A Solution To Frivolous Litigation Or The Elimination Of A Fundamental Shareholder Right?, Rebekah Biggs

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Corporate And Business Law, Christopher L. Mclean

University of Richmond Law Review

The past two years have produced a number of pieces of legislation from the Virginia General Assembly that serve to bring the set of Virginia business entity statutes up to date with its peers around the country. Part I highlights changes to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (“VSCA”) and the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act (“VNSCA”). Part II highlights changes to the Virginia Securities Act (“VSA”) and other statutes affecting Virginia business entities. Part III reviews two significant cases that the Supreme Court of Virginia decided over the past two years with respect to Virginia corporate law. Those decisions provided guidance …

The Elephant In The Room: Helping Delaware Courts Develop Law To End Systemic Short-Term Bias In Corporate Decision-Making, Kenneth Mcneil, Keith Johnson

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Short-termism in corporate decision-making is as problematic for long-term investors as relying on a three-mile radar on a supertanker. It is totally inadequate for handling the long-term risks and opportunities faced by the modern corporation. Yet recent empirical research shows that up to 85% of the S&P 1500 have no long-term planning. This is costing pension funds and other long-term investors dearly. For instance, the small minority of companies that do long-term planning and risk management had a long-term profitability that was 81% higher than their peers during the 2001–2014 period—with less stock volatility that costs investors dearly as well. …

Uncharted Waters? Legal Ethics And The Benefit Corporation, Joseph Pileri

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Corporate law norms are reflected in lawyers’ ethical duties. The enactment of benefit corporation legislation across the country signals a legislative acknowledgment that corporate law can serve as a public, rather than a merely private, ordering mechanism. Benefit corporations expressly adopt a public benefit as a legal purpose of the enterprise. While many have written about this important development with respect to corporate fiduciary law, this essay is the first to explore the professional and ethical responsibility of lawyers representing benefit corporations. In the last century, as scholars and courts drove an understanding of corporate law that elevated the interests …

Shawe V. Elting: The Imperfect Sale Of Transperfect Global, Inc., Sarah M. Samaha

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Take This Job And Shove It: The Pragmatic Philosophy Of Johnny Paycheck And A Prayer For Strict Liability In Appalachia, Eugene "Trey" Moore Iii

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Zapped! An Analysis Of Washington’S Electronic Monitoring Agreement, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Robert Chicoine

Faculty Scholarship

The State of Washington v. Wong, Wash. Super. Ct., No. 16-1-00179-0 is the State of Washington’s first judicially resolved case involving an automated sales suppression device. Months of negotiations led to a plea agreement and the State’s first electronic sales monitoring agreement (August 30, 2017). The taxpayer violated RCW 82.32.290 (4)(a) by knowingly possessing, and knowingly using a Zapper to suppress sales.

The penalties in this case were severe. Not only were all taxes, penalties, and interest lawfully due required to be paid, but as a Class C felony incarceration of up to 5 years, a $10,000 fine, or both …

Beyond Corporate Form: A Response To Dan Depasquale, Surbhi Sarang, And Natalie Bump Vena’S Forging Food Justice Through Cooperatives In New York City, Jonathan Brown

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In their article, Forging Food Justice Through Cooperatives in New York City, Dan DePasquale, Surbhi Sarang, and Natalie Bump Vena (the “Authors”) argue that consumer-owned and worker-owned cooperatives hold promise as a means for advancing policy objectives associated with “food justice,” namely building community wealth and power and providing more affordable access to healthy food in low-income and minority communities. Looking to examples of legislation and policies in other jurisdictions, they advocate for a wide range of policies to promote the viability of cooperatives in New York City, including reforms to cooperative corporation laws and strategies for better allocating funding …

The Technology Requirements Of The First Electronic Monitoring Agreement In U.S. For Zappers, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Robert Chicoine

Faculty Scholarship

On August 30, 2017, a plea was entered in the case of case of State of Washington v. Wong, Wash. Super. Ct., No. 16-1-00179-0, and as a result the first electronic monitoring agreement of sales transactions in the US (the “Monitoring Agreement”) was legislatively imposed on a retail business.

The Monitoring Agreement was negotiated between the State of Washington Department of Revenue (the “WA DOR”) and the taxpayer over a period of several months and is comprised of two parts: the basic agreement, which covered the obligations and rights of the parties, and an appendix, which defines the scope of …