DBO Proposes Reversal Of Long-Standing CFLL Interpretation

The California Finance Lenders Law generally requires that a person engaged in the business of making consumer loans and/or commercial loans obtain a license from the Department of Business Oversight. Cal. Fin. Code § 22100. There are, of course,...

Judge Orders Stockholder To "Register" Correspondence With The SEC

Many boards operate with a high degree of collegiality, even when the directors disagree. Some don't. When the board of directors of Gas Natural Inc., a publicly traded natural gas holding company, voted to remove its CEO and Chairman, he allegedly...

Buyer's "I Have A Plan" Statement Found To Be Immaterial Puffery

A recent California Court of Appeal decision is a helpful reminder that buyers can also be targets of securities fraud suits.  In Goldsholle v. Brisco, 2014 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7997 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. Nov. 6, 2014), the seller of a company...

Judge Rules Against FTB In "Doing Business" Definition

Over a year ago, I wrote about an Iowa corporation, Swart Enterprises, Inc., which operates a 60 acre farm in Kansas. Swart has no physical presence in California. It owns no real or personal property in California. However, Swart had invested...

Do Some Companies Already Have Fee-Shifting Provisions (And Not Know It)?

A lot of folks these days are arguing and writing about fee-shifting bylaws as if they were some kind of novel and sudden irruption, like Athena bursting from Zeus' skull. This overlooks the existence of fee-shifting provisions in a myriad of...

Will The Courts Stop Deferring To SEC Interpretations?

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a foundational principle of administrative law.  When a court reviews an agency's construction of a statute that it administers, the court should:

When California Copied Rule 10b-5 Did It Shut The State Courthouse Door To Securities Fraud Suits?

Section 27 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provides:

Nevada's Business Judgment Rule: FDIC - 4; Management - 0

In recent weeks, the U.S. District Court has issued four separate rulings in cases brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) against former bank managers for breach of fiduciary duty.  Here is a brief recap of these decisions:

Nevada Secretary Of State Denies Hacking Claim

Recently, Cytta Corp., a small Nevada corporation, filed this Form 8-K reporting that it had "discovered that it was the victim of an online hacking incident on October 30th, 2014 in that, unauthorized person or persons accessed the Nevada Secretary...