California's New Uniform Trust Decanting Act

In a recent post, I remarked that as a corporate and securities lawyer I was unfamiliar with the term "decanting" in respect to trusts. Much to my surprise, I have since learned that last year California actually enacted a uniform trust decanting...

LLC Real Estate Broker Bill Stalls

The California Real Estate Law broadly defines "real estate broker" to encompass numerous activities beyond selling real property. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 10131, 10131.1-.45. However, only individuals and corporations may obtain a real estate...

Court Interprets Bylaw Qualification Requirement For Directors

The California Corporations Code authorizes the bylaws to include a provision specifying the qualifications of directors.  Cal. Corp. Code § 212(b)(4).  A similar provision can be found in the Nonprofit Corporation Law.  Cal. Corp. Code § 5151(c)(3)....

In This Case Decanting Was In Error

I am no oenophile but I have heard of decanting a bottle of wine.  I am also not a trust and estates lawyer but I have never heard of decanting a trust's assets - until yesterday when I read the Nevada Supreme Court's opinion in In the Matter of The...

I-Bank Bill Advances Despite Manifold Issues

A California bill that would charter the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) as a depository institution passed out of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee yesterday. If the I-Bank becomes a depository...

Implied Causes Of Action Under The California Corporate Securities Law

As has been widely reported, the United States Supreme Court has dismissed as improvidently granted the writ of certiorari in Emulex Corporation v. Varjabedian.  This action leaves standing, at least for the time being, the Ninth Circuit Court of...

Leaving California By Short-Form Merger Without Shareholder Approval Fugetaboutit!

California, like Delaware and other states, authorizes a short-form merger procedure. Essentially, this involves a merger of a subsidiary into its parent or vice versa. Under California's statute, the parent corporation must own all of the...

Fee Shifting Bill Dies While Nevada Legislature Continues To Mull Other Corporate Law Amendments

Last month, I noted the introduction of a bill, SB 304, in the Nevada legislature that would authorize fee shifting. The bill, however, enjoyed only a brief moment in the legislative sun. It never passed out of committee and recently died pursuant...

The "Other" EDGAR

Did you know that some companies with securities registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 do not file their periodic reports and proxy materials on EDGAR? Section 12(i) of the Exchange Act vests the Federal...