Segway Segues Over Choice Of Law Question Inherent In Officer Caremark Claims

Last year, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster's  ruled that McDonald's Corporation's former Executive Vice President and Global ChiefPeople Officer, David Fairhurst, owed a duty of oversight comparable to the duty articulated by Chancellor Allen in In...

Why It Is Impossible To File Articles Of Incorporation And A Statement Of Information Simultaneously And A World Without Chevron

A California corporation begins existence upon the filing of its articles of incorporation. Cal. Corp. Code § 200(c). The filing of initial articles of incorporation starts a 90 day clock on the filing of the newly hatched corporation's initial...

This Corporation Was Harmed Even Before It Was Incorporated!
The Church of the Celestial Heart is a California nonprofit religious corporation seeks to import and use a sacramental tea. It so happens that this tea, which is also called Daime or ayahuasca, carries trace amounts of a Schedule I chemical. After...
The State Of California Is Too Broke To Implement Costly Climate Legislation

In previous posts, I have written about SB 253 and SB 261.   The former requires "reporting entities" (as defined) to disclose Scope 1, 2 & 3 greenhouse gas emissions. The latter imposes climate-related financial risk reporting. Both are likely to...

Is An Option Exercise Non Bis In Idem?

Is the issuance of shares upon exercise of a stock option distinguishable from the issuance of the option? The answer under California's Corporate Securities Law of 1968 may surprise some. Corporations Code Section 25017 adopts a unified view of...

I Say Again That Section 2116 Says Nothing About Officers

Recently, I took note of the fact that the California Supreme Court as granted review of EpicentRx, In.c v. Superior Court,95 Cal. App. 5th 890 (2023),review granted 539 P.3d 118 (2023).   This was a case that I discussed last September in which the...

The Corporate Transparency Act - A Nightmare From Which Small Businesses Are Trying To Awake?

As the new year begins, businesses of all sizes will have to contend with the federal Corporate Transparency Act. The CTA is part of the 1,482 page William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2021 which Congress...

Can A Charter Amendment Fix Con Ed?

In a recent post, Professor Ann Lipton noted a proposed charter amendment intended to address the so-called "Con Ed" problem.   In Consol. Edison, Inc. v. Ne. Utilities, 426 F.3d 524 (2d Cir. 2005), the stockholders of Northeast Utilities sued...

If Corporate Charters Are Contracts, Must They Be Signed By The Corporation Or Shareholders?

Recently, Professor Ann Lipton wrote that the California Supreme Court has granted review of EpicentRx, In.c v. Superior Court, 95 Cal. App. 5th 890 (2023), review granted 539 P.3d 118 (2023).   This was a case that I discussed last September in which...