Don't Be a Dummy - Measuring Shareholder Voting Power

John F. Banzhaf III is a law professor who in the 1960s became interested in voting and voting power.  See Weighted Voting Doesn't Work: A Mathematical Analysis, 19 Rutgers Law Review 317 (1965). In ensuing years, Professor Banzhaf has attracted...

California Is The Largest Issuer In The United States

On September 21, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission held its first in a series of hearings concerning the municipal securities markets.   California Treasurer Bill Lockyer submitted these written remarks. In these remarks, the Treasurer...

There Is No Alter Ego Liability When The Creditor Knows There Is No Corn In the Husk

Ok, I admit Fusion Capital Fund II, LLC v. Ham, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 15962 (Aug. 2, 2010) does not deal with California law. The case caught my eye because it isn't all that often that you see an opinion interpreting Nevada corporate law written by...

Senior-Specific Specifications Can Spell Trouble Under the CSL

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it had charged an investment adviser in Colorado with fraudulently recommending hedge funds to older investors.

Victims of Corporate Fraud Fund

In the waning days of the 2001-2002 legislative session, then Assemblymember Kevin Shelley gutted and amended AB 55. As introduced, AB 55 would have amended the Elections Code. Instead, AB 55 became the vehicle for the enactment of the deeply flawed...

Supreme Court Set To Decide Arian Controversy In Janus

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in Janus Capital Group, Inc.v. First Derivative Traders for December 7, 2010.  The case concerns whether: (1) a service provider can be held primarily liable for participating in an issuer's...

Proxy Access and Majority Voting

According to TheCorporateCounsel.net yesterday, the Security and Exchange Commission's proxy access rules were published yesterday in the Federal Register - thereby starting the clock on the effectiveness of the rules.

LLC Contractor Bill Is Held At Desk

On September 3, 2010, I wrote that SB 392 (Florez) had made it to enrollment. This bill authorizes the State Contractors' License Board to issue a contractor’s license to a limited liability company. Normally, a bill is sent to the Governor after...

Attorney General Suffers Setback in Placement Agent Suit

Yesterday, Bankruptcy Court Judge John Peterson issued his written decision regarding whether the State of California should be granted relief from the bankruptcy automatic stay in order to pursue a civil enforcement action against Alfred R....