How A Public Records Act Request Can Be Better Than A Subpoena Duces Tecum

The California counterpart to the Freedom of Information Act (aka FOIA) is the Public Records Act, Government Code Section 6250 et seq.  In a recent unpublished decision, the Court of Appeal succinctly explains why submitting a Public Records Act...

Those Who Hold Themselves Apart Seem To Be Getting All The Attention

Who knew that abstentions were so newsworthy?  Here are three recent news stories involving abstentions at annual meetings:

This Ruling Appears To "Unravel The Very Fabric Of The Space-time Continuum"

In prior posts, I've cast a jaundiced eye on last year's amendment of California's general securities fraud statute, Corporations Code Section 25401.  See Die Verwandlung: How The Legislature Likely Raised The Bar On Securities Fraud Actions and ...

Do You Want Your Lawyer To Be Horatius Or Atticus Finch?

I was profoundly disheartened by these recent remarks by SEC Commissioner Kara M. Stein:

What Good Can Come From Letting The Indifferent and Undecided Hold Sway?

I've written many posts on the subject of voting because it seems so straightforward and yet turns out to be complex. In tackling any voting problem, it is important to know and understand the applicable voting rule. An example of a voting rule can...

Oracular Utterances From California's Civil Code

In prior posts, I've mentioned the Etruscans who were the northern neighbors of the Latins and the erstwhile kings of Rome.  The last of these kings was Tarquinius Superbus, also known as Tarquin the Proud. According to the ancient sources,...

Federal Court Applies California Privilege Law To Delaware Corporation

Lawyers often speak of the attorney-client privilege in the singular as if there is only one privilege. Given the multiplicity of fora in which actions may be brought, it is best to think in the plural. There are many versions of the attorney-client...

Fee Shifting Bylaw Provisions May Face Constitutional Limitation

The corporate governance world has been disquieted by Delaware Supreme Court Justice Carolyn Berger's recent opinion that upheld the validity of a fee-shifting bylaw provision in the bylaws of a Delaware non-stock corporation. ATP Tours, Inc. v....

This International Shoe Doesn't Fit: Subsidiary May Not Be Parent's Agent

Is a wholly-owned subsidiary per se an agent of the parent? In an opinion issued yesterday, the Nevada Supreme Court answered "not necessarily". The legal issue was whether the German parent of a Delaware corporation doing business in Nevada was...