When a shareholder sues derivatively, the shareholder is seeking relief not for itself, but for the corporation. Therefore, it should be expected that the shareholder is not free to compromise or dismiss the suit absent...more
In a recent post, Professor Stephen Bainbridge discusses the question of when a controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties to minority shareholders. Knowing when controlling shareholder owes fiduciary duties is one thing,...more
Under the business judgment rule, "a director is not liable for a mistaken business judgment which is made in good faith and in what he or she believes to be in the best interest of the corporation, where no conflict of...more
The California General Corporation Law requires that a California corporation have a secretary. Cal. Corp. Code § 312(a)(2). The CGCL, however, says nothing about a chief legal officer. Indeed, many corporations do not...more
The California Corporations Code is a misnomer. While the Corporations Code does in fact govern corporations, it also governs a wide variety of unincorporated entities, including general partnerships, limited partnerships,...more
Notable Supreme Court Decisions - In 2023, the Mexican Supreme Court addressed several high-profile decisions asserting the limits between public branches and entities to preserve the constitutional order and to protect...more
A significant amount of background is required to answer the question of whether amending a shareholders agreement is subject to qualification under the California Corporate Securities Law. As an initial matter, the CSL...more
As scrutiny of public companies continues to increase, it is important for directors and officers to understand the full range of protections from personal liability available to them and for a company to be cognizant of its...more
Delaware practitioners and legal scholars are digesting the implications of SB 313 which adds a new Section 122(18) to the Delaware General Corporation. According to the bill's synopsis, this new provision...more
In a May post, I observed: As a long-time beneficiary of corporations fleeing other jurisdictions, Delaware may be tempted to put the brakes on its own corporations wishing to flee to the sunny uplands of other states. ...more
As the debate continues regarding DExit, I have been on the lookout for companies making the move from Delaware to Nevada. Recently, I came across this information statement filed by Viewbix Inc., a digital advertising...more
On August 1, 2024, an extensive and important set of amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the DGCL) will become effective. The amendments, which will apply both prospectively and retrospectively, were largely...more
California is a very linguistically diverse state with an estimated 200 plus different languages being spoken. Within my own family, English is not the primary language spoken at home by any of my grandchildren. Yet, the...more
Seven years ago, I addressed the question of whether the board of directors of a California corporation could remove a fellow director...more
The classic model of corporate governance is that the board of directors appoints and removes the principal corporate officers. This is consistent with the general principle that the business and affairs of a corporation...more
The Statement of Information required pursuant to California Corporations Code Section 1502 is not required to be signed under penalty of perjury. However, the statute does require that the corporation (not the individual...more
In Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., 506 A.2d 173, 182 (1986), the Delaware Supreme Court famously held that when the sale of a corporation becomes inevitable, the board of directors' duty changed from the...more
Delaware's website boldly asserts "The DGCL [Delaware General Corporation Law] offers predictability and stability." I have somewhat waggishly observed, however, that you can read the DGCL cover to cover and still no very...more
In West Palm Beach Firefighters Pension Fund v. Moelis & Co., 2024 WL 747180, at *2 (Del. Ch. Feb. 23, 2024), Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster ruled that Section 141(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law trumps most of...more
During its 2024 session, the General Assembly of Maryland approved Senate Bill 400 and House Bill 749, amending several provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (the "MGCL") and the Maryland REIT Law (the "MRL"),...more
NRS 107.028(1)(d) requires that a trustee under a deed of trust be a "domestic or foreign entity which holds a current state business license issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to chapter 76 of NRS". In Mahban v....more
Laura Graham was injured when she tripped over a sprinkler box located on property owned by a single member limited liability company. She sued the LLC and asserted that its member was the alter ego of the LLC and the case...more
The California General Corporation Law is part of the California Corporations Code, but not every corporation incorporated in California is formed or governed by the General Corporation Law. In fact, the Corporations Code...more
In a recently published article, Professors Samantha J. Prince & Joshua P. Fershée focus on the propensity to conflate corporations with limited liability companies...more
I recently addressed the question of whether the exchange of emails might constitute a corporate board meeting. Recently, Professor Stephen Bainbridge pointed out that he discussed this question more than two decades ago. ...more