Commercial Law Commons^™

The Problems: An Overview, Mark S. Massel

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Securities regulation -- domestic and foreign -- has a technical fascination for the lawyer, whether he be a practicing attorney, corporate counsel, government regulator, or legal scholar. The intricate detail of the primary regulations and of their subsidiary byways provide opportunities for stimulating mental gymnastics. The piecing together of the various phases provides interesting occasions for experimentation, speculation, and analyzation.

Yet, a preoccupation with securities regulation which overlooks the setting can produce mere academic exercise. The need for an appreciation of the setting is all-important in examining foreign securities regulation. In considering United States securities regulation we do not need …

Securities Regulation In Selected European Countries, Mitchell Brock

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In approaching the subject of securities regulation in selected European countries, I will not attempt to provide a detailed description of the existing arrangements in the principal European countries. I shall of course to some degree descend to the "nitty gritty" of concrete details to give to airy generalizations a local reality, but my principal objective will be to discuss the economic context, the structure of the capital markets in which the regulatory authorities are performing their functions.

This economic context is pertinent to an understanding of why the pattern of regulation differs in many respects from that existing in …

Some Legal And Economic Aspects Of Industrial Development Financing, Everett H. Falk

Vanderbilt Law Review

The increasing popularity of industrial development financing suggests that there are considerable benefits to be gained from the intelligent use of these plans. However, before a community commits itself to a particular industrial development project it should develop a clear concept of the direction in which the community is to move and it should seek to define its long-range economic objectives in the context of its ability to support industrial growth and its economic relation to other regions. The states themselves can, with professional assistance,undertake studies to define regional objectives; but statutory standards implemented by state agencies are necessary to …

Foreign Corporations And Local Corporate Policy, Stanley A. Kaplan

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will not attempt to document the thesis that there are corporate abuses or that an enabling act is less desirable than a regulatory type of statute. It is sufficient to assert or presume that there may be internal corporate abuses and that it may be desirable for some states, if they so choose, to have corporation statutes which are more than enabling acts and which limit or regulate specified aspects of corporate conduct. The question of whether it is feasible for a state to maintain a corporation statute which attempts closely to regulate the internal affairs of the …

Presumptions, Burden Of Proof And The Uniform Commercial Code, W. Harold Bigham

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Uniform Commercial Code' represents an attempt to codify,to clarify and to improve the substantive law of commercial transactions. Even a summary examination of the Code impresses one with the magnitude of this ambitious undertaking to reform so huge a body of substantive law. Inevitably, such a project must shade over into areas of adjective law and problems of proof. Whether through inadvertence or failure of the draftsmen to solicit the aid of persons whose expertise is outside the substantive law of commercial transactions, it is precisely at the points where substantive and procedural law meet in the Uniform Commercial …

Tax Problems In Sales To Controlled Corporations, Brian C. Ellis

Vanderbilt Law Review

Mr. Ellis examines the tax consequences arising when a taxpayer sells appreciated property to a controlled corporation in order to realize a capital gain for himself as well as to increase the basis of the property. He points out the dangers inherent in such a transaction and suggests precautions which should be taken to obtain favorable tax treatment. The author concludes that a taxpayer transferring appreciated property to a controlled corporation may achieve substantial tax benefits because of the relative ineffectiveness of sections 351 and 1239; however, it will be almost impossible for a taxpayer to recognize a loss on …

Book Reviews, Herman L. Trautman, W. Harold Bigham

Vanderbilt Law Review

THE BEST OF TRUSTS AND ESTATES-ESTATE PLANNING

There are one hundred and four articles arranged in eight chapters entitled, "Estate Planning-A Panoramic View," "Using the Marital Deduction, "Income Tax Planning, " "Making the Most of Gifts,""Minimizing Administration Problems," "How to Handle Business Interests," "Arranging Life Insurance," and "Drafting Wills and Trusts." The citation and date of the original publication of each article is stated, and in many instances there is an addendum by the author which brings the article up to the date of the book. In addition there are excellent introductory commentaries by the editors at the beginning of …

A Symposium On State Trading, William W. Bishop, Jr., Edwin D. Dickinson

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is a privilege and an honor to be invited to introduce the following collection of articles on State Trading. In planning and organizing this symposium, the Vanderbilt Law Review has chosen to deal with an important factor in contemporary economic life--a factor which has widespread ramifications in both domestic and international law. The included articles cover a wide variety of subjects, and represent view-points which differ considerably. They have the common quality of clear and full presentation of information about current problems, while at the same time suggesting further lines for investigation. Each article offers much of interest and …

Commercial Treaties And International Trade Transactions In East-West Trade, Clive M. Schmitthoff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Operations of international trade law are transacted on two levels--that of public law and that of private law. This distinction is clearly drawn in the Report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on "The Progressive Development of the Law of International Trade," a report which, it may be recalled, preceded the establishment of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCI-TRAL) in December 1966. That report limits its ambit to the "law of international trade," which is defined as "the body of rules governing commercial relationships of a private law nature involving different countries." The report excludes from …

The Plaintiff In Default, Richard H. Lee

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article is concerned with one basic fact pattern. A party to a contract has commenced performance but has stopped short of completion. His failure to perform further is legally inexcusable. The other party has not performed, but is not in default. Can the one in default salvage anything from the wreckage of the contract when he himself "cast it on the rocks"? Can he recover the value of his part performance despite the fact that he refused to abide by his contract? The answer most commonly given by the courts is a righteous no.' But there are many factors …

Restitution On Default And Article Two Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Robert J. Nordstrom

Vanderbilt Law Review

Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code, entitled Sales, contains an entire chapter (Part 7) devoted to remedies. This chapter reveals two basic philosophies. First, the draftsmen were concerned with developing a pattern of recovery following default by one of the parties, even though default is but one reason for the nonperformance of promises. Second, the remedies which are codified emphasize the expectation interest of the nondefaulting party and almost ignore any development of the restitution interest. This emphasis upon the expectation interest singles out only one judicial approach by which the economic interests of the parties can be readjusted …

Legislation, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Federal Diversity Jurisdiction--Citizenship for Unincorporated Associations

In 1889 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Chapman v.Barney' that a New York joint stock company was not to be considered a "citizen" for purposes of federal diversity jurisdiction. This decision provided the basis for the rule that unincorporated associations are not considered juridical persons, and that the citizenship of their individual members is determinative of federal diversity.

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Protecting the Client When His Lawyer Dies

The problems which arise when a practicing attorney suddenly diestake many shapes. Those which face the law firm are of both an ethical nature, involving the …

Legislation, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

An examination of the current status of state net income taxation on interstate business logically begins with the decision in Northwestern Portland Cement Co. v. Minnesota and its companion case Williams v. Stockham Valves & Fitting, Inc.' There the United States Supreme Court held that an apportioned, nondiscriminatory excise tax imposed by a state on the net income of a foreign corporation does not violate either the due process clause or the commerce clause of the federal constitution, even though the income is derived solely from interstate commerce. Mr. Justice Frankfurter, dissenting, warned that increased burdens of bookkeeping necessary to …

A New Look At The European Patent: Limited Availability, Harold G. Maier

Vanderbilt Law Review

The promulgation of the Proposed Draft Convention relating to a European Patent Law in December 1962,' by the member states of the European Economic Community, and the continuing controversy surrounding it since that time have raised important questions for European and American businessmen. One of the most controversial is the extent to which the new patent should be made "available" to nationals of states not parties to the proposed Convention. This article examines the question of "availability" from the standpoint of the interests of the EEC and its member states. Its objective is to demonstrate that although the legal arguments …

Municipal Industrial Development Bonds, Alfred E. Abbey

Vanderbilt Law Review

Several years ago a national business magazine carried an article styled "You Gotta Have A Golf Course."' The article outlined the efforts of a small town to attract new industry and the awkward realization by the city fathers that they were losing out to the competition because their community lacked such a recreational facility. After this finding, several public spirited citizens raised the necessary funds and constructed a nine-hole course. These efforts were soon rewarded when a large industrial concern located a new manufacturing plant in their city. Industrial development bonds are essentially intended to serve the same purpose as …

Unexpected Disqualification Of Reorganizations Under The Internal Revenue Code By The Inadvertent Transfer Of Boot, Alden H. Smith, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

It is common today to read of corporations "merging" or of one corporation "buying out" another. Many of these transactions will be "reorganizations" under section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 368 is the current congressional resolution of two conflicting policies of tax law. On the one hand, it is desirable to promote the free mobility of capital in order that it be used in the most economical manner. On the other hand, there is the desire to prevent shareholders from using corporate reorganizations as a means of avoiding income taxes. The most common of shareholder schemes are those …

Rule 10b-5 And The Stockholder's Derivative Action, Lewis D. Lowenfels

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article focuses upon a new, emerging private cause of action based upon section 10(b) and rule 10b-5-a stockholder's derivative action initiated on behalf of a corporation which has been defrauded in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. Five reported cases, three decided in the last three months of 1964, have sustained a stockholder's derivative suit based upon section 10(b) and rule 10b-5. The significance of these decisions becomes apparent, not only when one considers that the derivative suit has traditionally been an internal corporate matter governed exclusively by state law, but also when one focuses upon the …

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 …

William 0. Douglas -- His Work In Policing Bankruptcy Proceedings, John W. Hopkirk

Vanderbilt Law Review

William 0. Douglas, while associated with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the mid-nineteen thirties, was responsible for a study of methods and procedures of corporate reorganization. By examining this area of Douglas' work, we can compare the position on corporate reorganization which the Justice developed as an administrative official for the New Deal with his later consideration of the same problems as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States. Through this comparison we can observe a number of basic attitudes which were manifested by Douglas both before and since he has joined the Court. Important among …

Commercial Transactions And Personal Property--1963 Tennessee Survey, John A. Spanogle, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Obviously, the biggest event in the Tennessee law of commercial transactions this year was the enactment of the Uniform Commercial Code [hereinafter referred to as the U.C.C.]. That statute became effective in this state on July 1, 1964. Its effect on the prior Tennessee law is discussed in great detail elsewhere in this issue,' and need not be re-examined here. It should also be pointed out that the enactment of the U.C.C.required some modifications in the criminal statutes relating to security agreements. In particular, executing a second security agreement covering personalty, without disclosing a prior security agreement covering the same …

Tennessee Law And The Sales Article Of The Uniform Commercial Code, W. Harold Bigham

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although much of the interest engendered by the Uniform Commercial Code has centered around Article 9--Secured Transactions,and although Article 9 has been described as the heart of the Code, Article 2--Sales--is half again as long, is in many ways more iconoclastic,' and has precipitated perhaps more criticism than any of the other articles of the Code. Article 2 contains some innovations which are, at least upon initial impression, startling departures from traditional concepts of sales law, and it is therefore not surprising that there has been a spate of legal literature published on various aspects of this article. Since limitations …

Contracts -- 1963 Tennessee Survey, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

Both the one year provision and the sale of goods provision of the Statute of Frauds were construed in Anderson-Gregory Co. v. Lea.'Regarding the duration of the contract, the facts in the opinion are somewhat sparse... The court held that the contract did not come within this provision of the statute. If a contract could have been performed, under its terms, within a year from the time of its making, it is not within the Statute of Frauds, even though it is improbable that the contract would be performed within a year.

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The Tennessee Supreme Court case of Oman …

The Powers Of Shareholders Of A Societe Anonyme, David J. Supino

Vanderbilt Law Review

French corporation law,which is primarily statutory, has seen no comprehensive statutory revision in almost a century; and while literally dozens of amendments have been engrafted on to the basic corporate legislation of 1867, they are for the most part ad hoc legislative resolutions of particular problems which betray no underlying unity of design and which have broken the unity of the old legislation. The result is that the law is Janus faced, and the theories which the law embodies are not wholly in accord with social and economic needs.

In this necessary process of assimilating new insights into the law …

An Analysis Of Insurable Interest Under Article Two Of The Uniform Commercial Code, John M. Stockton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The basic requisite of an insurable interest pervades all types of insurance contracts.' The reason most commonly given to justify this requirement is that in the absence of such an interest the agreement is no more than a common wager. A second reason is that the absence of an insurable interest might encourage the insured willfully to destroy the property (or life) of the insured. Despite universal recognition of its need, insurable interest is a term of indefinite meaning. This is evidenced by the many opinions in which courts have had difficulty in determining the existence of such an interest. …

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.

Tennessee Law And The Secured Transactions Article Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Charles H. White

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Uniform Commercial Code in its treatment of personal property security represents a sincere and conscious effort on the part of its draftsmen, authors and sponsors to update and modernize commercial law so as to be able to keep abreast of today's space-age economy. It is submitted that once a familiarity with the new terms,concepts, and theories is acquired, the average practitioner should not encounter any serious difficulty operating under the Uniform Commercial Code and will, in all probability, discover that in most instances the ideas are the same, although perhaps a little hard to recognize at first examination.

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

Commercial Transactions And Personal Property -- 1962 Tennessee Survey, John A. Spanoale

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Code, and its repealer provisions, will not become effective in Tennessee until June 30, 1964. This delay gives the practicing attorney fifteen months to become familiar with its provisions. This amount of time will be needed for such education, for the Code is a very large and detailed piece of legislation, and little has been written comparing the present Tennessee law to the Code. It is not the purpose of this article to attempt to summarize the effect of the provisions of this legislation on the present Tennessee law, but only to give notice that it has been enacted …

Corporations -- 1962 Tennessee Survey, Daniel J. Gifford

Vanderbilt Law Review

I. Jurisdiction Over Foreign Corporations--The Solicitation Plus Rule The extent of Tennessee's assertion of jurisdiction over foreign corporations was considered in Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. v. Oritz' and Fisher v. Trion, Inc. by two of the Tennessee courts of appeal. Both cases are of interest because of their respective approaches to the so-called "solicitation plus" rule.

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II. Corporate Promotions Community General Hospital, Inc. v. Diehl involved an unsuccessful promotion of a hospital corporation. A preferred stockholder had brought a class action in the Chancery Court of Shelby County for the appointment of a receiver to carry out …

The Bank-Depositor Relationship--A Comparison Of The Present Tennessee Law And The Uniform Commercial Code, John A. Spanogle Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The author examines the relationship of the bank and its deposit or under existing Tennessee law and then points out changes and modifications which would arise under the Uniform Commercial Code. Professor Spanogle notes that many of the problems discussed are not governed by statute in Tennessee and that the case law is unclear in certain areas. This is one of his reasons for recommending the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code by the Tennessee legislature.