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Corporations Code Fiduciary Duty

Allen Matkins

California Court Opines On Fiduciary Duties Of LLC Members And Covenants Not To Compete

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Yesterday, the Fourth District Court of Appeal issued a noteworthy opinion addressing at least two significant questions.  Samuelian v. Life Generations Healthcare, LLC, 2024 WL 3878448....more

Allen Matkins

Can A Member Bring A Derivative Action On Behalf Of A California Nonprofit Corporation?

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Like many questions in the law, the answer to the question of whether a member of a California nonprofit corporation may maintain a derivative action is "it depends"....more

Allen Matkins

If Harvard Is A Corporation, Does Its Board Owe Fiduciary Duties?

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Of late, Harvard has garnered an abundance of attention regarding the continued incumbency of its President.  Despite widely criticized testimony before Congress and the publication of allegations of plagiarism, the Harvard...more

Allen Matkins

May A Joint Venturer Withdraw From A Joint Venture In Order To Pursue A Joint Venture Opportunity?

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California's Uniform Partnership Act of 1994 provides that a partner has a duty to refrain from competing with the partnership in the conduct of the partnership business "before the dissolution of the partnership".  Cal....more

Allen Matkins

Discerning When A Director Has Acted With "Reckless Disregard"

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Section 204(a)(10) of the California Corporations Code permits the articles of incorporation to include provisions eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director for monetary damages in an action brought by or...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

“Equitable Buyout” as a Remedy for LLC Wrongdoing?

In the world of LLCs, buyouts — where one member sells his/her membership interest to another member or the LLC itself — are commonplace. Buyouts generally fall into one of two categories: contractual — where the...more

Allen Matkins

Court of Appeal Applies Caremark/Marchand To Directors of a California Corporation But The Result May Surprise You

Allen Matkins on

Over the years, I have commented on the fact that the California Court of Appeal has yet to apply In re Caremark International Inc., 698 A.2d 959 (Del. Ch. 1996) to the directors of a California corporation. Last Friday,...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLC and Partnership Authority “Safe Harbors”

California’s statutes governing LLCs and general partnerships include “safe harbor” provisions making it easier for third parties to rely on the apparent authority of an LLC’s manager or a partnership’s partner. The statutes...more

Allen Matkins

The General Corporation Law's Filioque

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The Nicene Creed as approved by the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. included the following: "τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον (who proceeds from the father).  About 200 years later at the Third Council of Toledo, the...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Court of Appeal Reaffirms Broad Inspection Rights Accorded to Directors Under Section 1602 of the California...

In Fowler v. Golden Pacific Bancorp, Inc., 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 548 (Cal. App. June 23, 2022), the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District (Krause, J.), reinforced the near absolute right of directors of a...more

Winstead PC

Partner Had Capacity To Sue Other Partner For Breach Of Fiduciary Duty

Winstead PC on

In Power v. Power, one brother sued the other brother for breach of fiduciary duty related to their partnership in real estate investing. No. 05-19-01557-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2926 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 3, 2022, no pet....more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Derivative Claim Standing: Both Contemporaneous And Continuous Membership Required

When an LLC suffers primary harm that also indirectly harms the LLC’s members, the cause of action generally belongs to the LLC, not its members. Only if the LLC (through its duly authorized management) fails to pursue the...more

Allen Matkins

Why California Requires Notice Of Rights That Shareholders May Not Have

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Dissenters' rights under California's General Corporation Law do not exist unless there are "dissenting shares", a term defined in Section 1300(b) of the California Corporations Code.  In order to qualify as "dissenting...more

Allen Matkins

Court Finds No Cause Of Action Against Officer For Interfering With Shareholder Inspection

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William Romanowski is a former NFL linebacker who later became the majority shareholder, director, and "public face" of Nutrition 53, Inc.  When the company's second largest shareholder was allegedly denied inspection of the...more

Allen Matkins

Is Something Missing From This Complaint Against The We Company?

Allen Matkins on

Earlier this week, Kevin M. LaCroix wrote about a lawsuit filed recently against The We Companies, commonly referred to as WeWork. The company has attracted a lot of press attention when in September it withdrew the...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Nevada Legislature Innovates Corporation and LLC Laws

The Nevada Legislature and Gov. Steve Sisolak have recently approved Assembly Bill No. 207 (AB 207), a bill passed under the leadership and guidance of Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson. AB 207 makes certain meaningful changes...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

California Court of Appeal Enforces Delaware Forum Selection Bylaw

In Drulias v. 1st Century Bancshares, Inc., No. H045049, 2018 WL 6735137 (Cal. App. Dec. 21, 2018), the California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District, affirmed an order staying a stockholder lawsuit brought in the...more

Allen Matkins

Court Rules That Non-Innocent Agent Must Be Indementified

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Section 317 of the California Corporations Code authorizes a California corporation to indemnify its agents (as defined) under certain circumstances. The statute deals separately with third party claims (Subdivision (b)) and...more

Allen Matkins

Directors Fail To Escape Liability For Approving Dividend

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I last wrote about FDIC v. Ching, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92687 (E.D. Cal. July 8, 2014) in July of 2014. That post concerned Judge Kimberly J. Mueller's ruling that California's statutory restrictions on distributions to...more

Allen Matkins

Court Rules Plaintiff Is Not Required To Advance Defendant’s Legal Expenses

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Imagine how frustrated you would be if you sued someone and the defendant responded by demanding that you advance his legal expenses in defending your lawsuit. The plaintiff in Allergia, Inc. v. Bouboulis, 2017 U.S. Dist....more

Allen Matkins

Should Directors Be Required To Have Valid Passports?

Allen Matkins on

Lately, I’ve had occasion to think about director qualifications. Section 212(b)(4) of the California Corporations Code permits the bylaws to to specify the qualifications of directors.  In Section 141(b),the Delaware General...more

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