AGENCY

EXAM APPROACHQuestions to ask:

1.) Is there a Principal-Agent relationship/and what type?

2.) If so, does the issue involve a TORT or CONTRACT?


Agency:
An agency is a fiduciary relationship that arises when one person (a
principal) manifests assent to another person (an agent) that the
agent shall act on the principals behalf and subject to the principals
control.

o There are three parts:

1.) Manifestation of consent by the principal that
the agent act on the principals behalf; AND

2.) subject to the principals CONTROL; AND

3.) the agent manifests CONSENT

Three players in agency Questions:

1.) The Principal
2.) The Agent
3.) The Third Party


Agency Problems Involving Contract: When facing a fact pattern where
a contract is involved the question is whether the principal is not whether
the principal is liable, but whether the principal is bound by the agents
actions.

General rule: An agent has the ability to bind a principal to an
agreement, provided that the agent has some form of authority.

Types of Authority: 1.) actual authority, 2.) apparent authority,
3.) ratification, and 4.) agency by estoppel.

o 1.) Actual Authority (Express and Implied):
Actual authority exists when P communicates to A about
the activities in which the agent may engage and the
obligations the agent may undertake. This
communication may be spoken Or written (express
actual authority). It may be through silence or implied
by the job (implied actual authority).

Actual Express Authority
Involves examining the principals explicit
instructions.

Actual Implied Authority
Involves examining Ps explicit instructions and
asking what else might be reasonably included in
those instructions (i.e. implied) to accomplish the
job.

Implied authority includes actions that are
necessary to accomplish the principals original
instructions to the agent; it also includes those
actions that the agent reasonably believes the
principal wishes him to do, based on the agents
reasonable understanding of the authority granted
by the principal.

o 2.) Apparent Authority

Apparent authority is created when a person (principal
or apparent principal) does or says something or
creates a reasonable impression/manifestation that
another person (the apparent agent) has the authority
to act on behalf of that apparent principal.

It is about what a third party reasonably believes the
principal has authorized the agent to do.

o 3.) RatificationAuthority given after the fact:

Ratification is the authority granted after the contract
has been made. It involves situations in which an agent
enters into an agreement on behalf of the principal
without any authority (actual or apparent).

Ps affirmation may be express or implied (i.e. implied
by accepting the benefits of the transaction).

Once agreement or transaction has been ratified the law
treats it as if it were originally done by the agent with
actual authority. Thus, binding both parties to the
agreement (i.e. principal and third-party).

To be VALID, P must know or have reason to know, at
the time of the alleged ratification, the material facts
relating to the transaction.

P MAY NOT PARTIALLY RATIFY a transaction. P must
ratify the whole transaction. Its all or nothing.

Limitations on Ratification:

If a third party manifests an intention to withdraw
from the transaction, prior to ratification, the
principal may not ratify the agreement.

Ratification will be denied when necessary to
protect the rights of innocent third parties.
Ex. Annie (agent) enters into an agreement
with Ted (third-party) to sell Pats
(Principal) house on day one. On day two,
Ps house burns down. P cannot ratify on
day three and say Ok, I accept the
agreement. (P. 22)

Ratification might also be denied if the passage of
time affects the rights and liability of a third
party.



o Questions to ask to determine whether there is a valid
ratification:

A.) Did P through word or deed manifest his
assent to affirm the agreement?
B.) Will the law give effect to that assent?

o 4.) Agency by Estoppel: (P.23)

Estoppel is not really a form of authority. Estoppel is an
equitable doctrine which prevents the principal from
denying that an agency relationship exists.

Estoppel generally arises in agency situations in which
the principal has done something improper.

As used in agency, estoppel involves:

1.) Acts or omissions (generally wrongful) by the
principal, either intentional or negligent, which
creates an appearance of authority in the
purported agent.

2.) The third party reasonably, and in good faith,
acts in reliance on the appearance of authority.

3.) The third party changes her position in
reliance upon that appearance of authority.

Difference between between ESTOPPEL and
APPARENT Authority:

1.) Estoppel requires that the third party
alter his or her position in reliance on the
purported authority.
There is no such requirement for apparent
authority.

2.) Apparent authority requires a
manifestation by the principal (directly or
indirectly) to the principal.

No such manifestation is required for
estoppel, merely some culpable act or
omission by the principal.

Estoppel might arise when the principal
takes some improper action. Yet, the
improper action is not sufficient to amount
to a manifestation to the third party.

o Inherent Agency power:
This is a term used by the restatement of Agency to
indicate the power of an agent which is derived not
from authority, apparent authority or estoppel, but
solely from the agency relation and exists for the
protection of persons harmed by or dealing with a
servant or other agent. (Statute bk, 2)


Agents Liability for Contracts

Liability of--Undisclosed Principal: (P.22/29)

o Definition--A principal is undisclosed when the principal
authorizes an agent to act on the principals behalf with
respect to third parties, but the principal is undisclosed and
the third party is unaware that the principal exists.

Agent acts with authority:
If the agent acts with the principals actual,
express or implied, authority, then the principal
is bound.

There can be no apparent authority with an
undisclosed principal, because an undisclosed
principal by definition cannot have made a
manifestation to the third party.

These situations are covered under the concept of
liability of an undisclosed principal (was formerly
known as inherent agency).

Under this concept the law will sometimes
hold an undisclosed principal liable for
certain unauthorized transactions of his
agent when a third party has made a
detrimental change in position, if the
principal had notice of the agents conduct
and that it might induce third parties to
change their positions, and the principal did
not take reasonable steps to notify the third
parties of the facts. (Third Restatement
Agency 2.06)P.23

Liability of Partially Principal for Contract:
o A partially disclosed principal exists when an agent tells a
third party that the agent is acting on behalf of a principal,
but the identity of the principal is not disclosed. (P.30)


Liability of Agent for Contract:

o General Rule-- An agent is not liable as a party to the
contracts that the agent enters into on behalf of a disclosed
principal.

o There are two situations when an agent will be treated
as a party to a contract:

1.) Agent is acting on behalf of an undisclosed
principal; OR

2.) Agent is action on behalf of a partially disclosed
principal (i.e. unidentified principal).

o In both instances, the agent is bound by the agreement
at the election of the third party. The third party may
choose to sue the authorized agent OR principal.

UNLESS the parties specifically agree that the agent
will not be bound OR the original agreement provides
that, upon identification of the principal, the agent will
no longer be bound.

o However, in most situations in which the agent would be
found liable under an agreement the agent would have
a claim for indemnification provided that the agent acted
with Ps authority and did not cause the breach of the
agreement. (P.30)


EXAM APPROACH (Questions to Ask): (P. 28-29)

1.) Did Principal give Actual Authority to the Agent (*either express
or implied)?

2.) Did the principal make some manifestation to the third party
creating Apparent Authority?

3.) Was the Principal undisclosed, creating liability of an undisclosed
principal (formerly Inherent Agency Power (IAP))?

4.) Did the Principal ratify the contract?

5.) Is Estoppel an issue?

o Did P do something wrong or fail to do something, that
created an impression with the third party?

o Did the third party rely and alter his or her position to his or
her detriment?



Agency Problems Involving Torts:

1.) First determine whether an employee/employer
relationship existed.

o Asses whether the principal had the right to exert control
over the manner and the means by which the agent
performed his duty.

It is not just the actual exercise of control that is
critical. It is also the right to exercise control that is
evaluated.

Factors involved in assessing Ps right to exert control
over A:
1.) Extent of control that the agent and principal
have agreed the principal may exercise over the
details of the work.
2.) Whether A is engaged in a distinct occupation
or business
3.) Whether type of work done by agent is
customarily done under Ps direction or without
Ps supervision.
4.) The skill required in As occupation
5.) Who supplies the tools or instrumentalities
required for work and place to perform work?
6.) Length of time A is engaged by P
7.) Whether A is paid by the job or by time
worked
8.) Whether P and A believe they are creating an
employment relationship; AND
9.) Whether the principal is or is not in business.

Employee vs. Independent Contractor:
Under the doctrine of Respondeat Superior, P is
responsible for the torts committed by its
employee within the course and scope of
employees employment. Generally, P is not
responsible for the torts of their independent
contractors.

Non-Employee Agents and independent
contractors: It is possible to have an agency
relationship in which the agent is not an employee.

The Third Restatement refers to some individuals
as non-employee agents. Other sources still use
the term independent contractors

Rule:
When a fact pattern involves an
independent contractor OR a non-employee
agent, if the tort occurs over an area which
the principal exercises some control, the
principal might still be liable. (SEE Fiona
example on p. 15)

EXCEPTIONS to independent contractor rule:
There are certain situations in which a principal is
still liable for the torts of an agent who Is not an
employee and over whom the principal exercises
no control. Those situations are:

1.) Inherently dangerous activitiesany
activity likely to cause harm or damage
unless some precautions are taken.

2.) Non-delegable dutiesa duty that a
person may not avoid by the mere
delegation of the task to another person.
The hiring of the agent to perform the task
will not discharge or transfer the principals
responsibility or liability.

3.)Negligent hiringthis is not about
vicarious liability. Rather, it is direct
negligence. Liability is based on the
principals negligence in hiring the
independent contractor, not on attributing
responsibility for the tortuous act to an
independent contractor or to an innocent
principal.

2.) Was Agent/employee acting within Scope of
employment?:

o Intentional Torts:
Principals/employers are not liable for the intentional
torts of their agents/employees.

Exception:
However, when the employers job is such
that some part of the intentional tort might
be characterized as being done with the
intent of serving the employer P will be
liable.
o Ex. Club bouncer who ejects patron
from the club.

o Frolic & Detour:

1.) Frolicwhen an agent leaves employment to do
something for personal reasons.

2.) DetourIf an employee is still engaged in
employment but strays only slightly from the direct
assignment, that is known as a mere detour.

Ex. An agent who is driving to the bank to deposit
money for the store which employs him and takes
a longer route so he can drive by the new
sculpture in the park is on a detour.
If he gets in an accident while driving by
the sculpture, the employer will still be
liable.

3.) Apparent Agency: (P.16-19)
o Apparent agency arises in situations in which the person
committing the tort is not an employee , or perhaps not even
the agent, of the principal.

Under the traditional agency analysis, P would not be
liable for the alleged agents tort. However, if there are
circumstances which led the injured third-party to
reasonably believe that an employment or agency
relationship existed between the P and alleged A and
those circumstances existed because of some action or
inaction on the part of P, then P might still be liable
under the theory of apparent agency.

Many courts (but not all) require proof that if the
alleged agent was under the control of P, then P
would or could have exercised control to avoid the
tort which took place.


REMEMBER:
o The Agent is always liable for his own negligence.

o Also, the principal always responsible for his or her own
negligence (in such an situation the doctrine of respondeat
superior does not ably).


EXAM APPROACHTORT (Questions to ask):

1.) Is there an EmployeeEmployer relationship?

2.) If the agent is an employee, did the tort occur within the scope
of the employment or was it clearly outside the scope (frolic or
detour)?

3.) Even if there is NO Employee/Employer relationshipis there
sufficient control to create a non-employee agent, and if so, did
the tort occur within the scope of that control?

4.) Even if there is no control exercised over agent, does the event
fall into an exception such as an: i.) inherently dangerous activity,
ii.) a non-delegable duty, OR iii.) negligent hiring?

5.) If there is no liability for the Principal under a control analysis, is
there a claim for Apparent Agency because the third party
reasonably relied on the appearance of the agency and was harmed
as a result of the reliance?


Rights and Responsibilities: (P.32-33)

AgentThe agent has certain duties and obligations to P. The
agents knowledge is imputed to P.

o 1.) Duty of care, competence, and diligence
o 2.) Duty of loyalty
o 3.) Duty not to acquire material benefits arising out of the
agency
o 4.) Duty not to act as (or on behalf of) an adverse party
o 5.) Duty not to Compete
o 6.) Duty not to use the principals property
o 7.) Duty not to use confidential information
o 8.) Duty of good conduct
o 9.) Duty to provide information

NOTE:
o While some of these duties may be waived by the principal,
such a waiver requires that the principal ne fully informed and
that the agent still act in good faith and still deal fairly with
the principal. (P.33)


PrincipalThe principal has certain duties and obligations to the
agent. (P.34)

o 1.) Duty to indemnify
o 2.) Duty of good faith and fair dealing



Partnership

Background:
Partnerships are generally governed by state law. Most states have
adopted some version of the Uniform Partnership Act (1997)
(RUPAwhich stands for the revised Uniform Partnership Act).
The codified versions of RUPA are known as the default rules,
because the apply if the partnership is not governed by an
agreement or if the partnership agreement does not cover a
particular area. Although most provisions of RUPA can be modified
by an agreement there are some that cannot.(See P. 41)

NOTENo formal partnership agreement is needed, but it is
recommended.

Types of Partnership

1.) General Partnership (Outline based on general partnerships)

2.) Limited Liability Partnerships

3.) Limited Liability Companies

Partnership

A partnership is :

o 1.) An association of two or more persons
o 2.) To carry on as co-owners of a business
o 3.) For profit.


Attributes Associated with a Partnership:

1.) Each partner is jointly and severally liable for the debts of the
partnership

2.) Each partner has the ability to participate in the control and
management of the partnership.
o Under the Uniform Partnership Act (1997) (RUPA)Each
partner is entitled to at least one vote regardless of how
much capital he or she contributed.

3.) In a partnership profits are shared equally. So, when a
partnership is dissolved, the money is divided up among the
partners.

4.) TAXPartnerships are not taxed on their income.

5.) Partners owe each others owe each other the highest level of
fiduciary duty.


Partnership by Estoppel

There are instances, even if someone is not a partner in a
partnership, where he or she might still be responsible for the debts
of the partnership.

o Ex.
In a partnership by estoppel, if A, B, and C are
partners, and X Is not a partner, X still can be held
liable as a partner IF X allows the partners to act in a
way that third parties reasonably believe X to be a
partner. (P.41)

To be liable under this theory, X must make some
manifestation which creates an impression,
allowing others outside the partnership to
reasonably believe that X is a partner; AND the
third party claiming partnership by estoppel must
rely on that impression to his or her detriment.
(P.42)

Partnership by Estoppel requires: (P.42)

o 1.) Actual reliance

o 2.) Reliance must be reasonable

o 3.) Some manifestation (by the alleged partner)

Difference between Partnership by Estoppel and Apparent
Authority:
o

Fiduciary Obligations of Partners (The punctilio of an honor most
sensitive):
1.) Partnership Duty of Loyalty:
2.)
o
CORPORATIONS

CORPORATIONS


Background:
Corporations are a method of doing business. It enables promoters to do
business through them. The corporation is the one doing the business. The
law treats corporations as legal persons as opposed to natural persons.

There are articles of corporation filed with the secretary of state (the
date they are filed that is the corps birth date)

By-Laws: There are set of rules for running the corp.

When the corporation wants to conduct business, natural persons
that are in charge of its affairs natural persons have to conduct
meetings.

A record of those meetings are called MINUTES.

The agreements (resolutions) made in the meetings are called RESOLUTION.

A Corp. can own shares in another corp.

Shareholdersare the owners of the corporation. They provide the capital
to the corp. and receive corps. Residual net profits (after creditors are paid).

The shares are evidenced by stock certificates. You keep a certified copy in
the corporate notebook and the original in a safety deposit box.

Shareholders are required to meet once a year. In that meeting one of their
primary functions is to elect a board of directors and consent to any changes
to any organizational fundamental issues (i.e. changes in articles of
incorporation)

Board of directors (highest level of fiduciary duty to the corp.)is a high
position of power in corp. They have the exclusive power to manage the
corporations business. They determine if and when dividends are paid.
They are not required to contribute any money to corp. or share in losses.
They are the guardians of the corporation.
They do not get to share in the profits of the crop. as a member of the board
of directors. However, they can be compensated or not as part of the board
of directors.
Note: A shareholder could also be on the board of directors.

Board of directors elect the officers of the corporation. The officers work day
to day in the corporation. Its their job. They are responsible for carrying in
day to day business (9 to 5 job)
Example:
President, VP, secretary, CEO, CFO,
They are fiduciaries of the corporation


Dejure corportaionA straightforward corp. formed by filing articles of
incorp. With secretary of state.

Corp. by Estoppel
Third party seeking to avoid a contract.

Elements:
1.) The court treats a firm that is not incorporated as if it were
2.) if a third person regarded them as such
3.) and third person would gain a windfall if they court now failed to
recognize the firm as a corp.


Benefits:
Allows individuals to take risks shielding them from personal liability (or
limited liability). This is the hallmark of doing business as a corporation.
Allows individuals to take risks in commerce. Allows more people to take
risks and develop business.

Defacto Corp
Elements:
1.) Promoters tried to incorporate in good faith
2.) had legal right to do so
3.) AND acted as a corporation.


Southern-Gulf Marine Co. No. 9, Inc. v. Camcraft, Inc.

Corporation by Estoppel

Facts:
Plaintiff, Southern-Gulf Marine Co. No. 9, Inc., contracted with Defendant,
Camcraft, Inc., to buy a supply vessel from Defendant. Defendant refused to
comply with the agreement, arguing that the contract was invalid because
Plaintiff was not incorporated in Texas as the initial agreement stated.


Enterprise Liability
involves a bunch of different corporation. The plaintiff wants to include all of
the assets of each of the separate corporation that are operating in a single
enterprise. The plaintiff wants to pool the assets of the corporation in order
to pay for damages suffered.

Walkovszky v. Carlton


Piercing the Corporate Veil


Sea-Land Services, Inc. v. Pepper Source


Piercing the Corporate Veil:

General Rule:
o Generally, the owners of a corporation, as well as the
directors and officers can not be held personally liable for the
obligations of the corporation.

Exception:
o However, in some circumstances, even though a corporation
has been validly formed, the courts will hold the shareholders,
officers, or directors personally liable for the corporations
obligations to avoid fraud or in justice.


Van Dorn test2 PRONG TEST (for Piercing the Corporate
vail) (P. 213-14)

o A corporate entity will be disregarded and the veil of the
limited liability pierced when two requirements are met:

PRONG (1.) there must be such unity of interest and
ownership that the separate personalities of the
corporation and the individual [or other corporation] no
longer exist;

Four Factorsto determine whether a
corporation is controlled by another to justify
disregarding their separate identities:

i. the failure to maintain adequate corporate
records or to comply with corporate
formalities;

ii. The comingling of funds or assets;

Iii. Undercapitalization; AND

Iv. One corporation treating the assets of
another corporation as its own.

PRONG (2.) circumstances must be such that
adherence to the fiction of separate corporate existence
would sanction a fraud or promote injustice.





Board of Directors (Control):

The Board of Directors are in charge of managing the corporation.
The Board of Directors hold office until the next annual meeting
unless the Articles of Incorporation states otherwise.
They can delegate duties relating to management to Officers who
are employees of the corporation.
The Board of Directors is vicariously liable for the actions of the
officers.
The Board of Directors selects the employee/officers and
determines how much salary they will make.
If a shareholder is not an employee, then the shareholder will only
receive money through dividends.
The Board of Directors determines how much, if any dividends will
be paid.
There decisions are limited by fiduciary duties, but they their
decisions are also protected by the business judgment rule.


Shareholder Control-- Voting Rights: (Acing 141-143)

Shareholders control the corporation indirectly to some extent by
their voting rights.

The right to vote is held by the shareholder of record on the stock
transfer book as of the day the book is closed on record day. (Flem.
10)

o Shareholders have the right to vote:
1.) for the election and removal of directors (with or
without cause at anytime)
2.)to adopt, amend or appeal laws
3.) shareholders must approve fundamental corporate
changes. (Flem. 10/Barbri 20)

Shareholders may vote in their own self-interest whereas directors
are bound by their fiduciary duties and must act based upon their
good faith determination of what is best for the corporation and all
the shareholders.

Voting Trusts

o A device whereby two or more shareholders place their shares
in trust. The trust has a trustee who is responsible for voting
the shares.

o The trust is typically governed by a trust agreement, which
determines how long the trust will last and how many shares
will be voted.

Typically voting trust are limited to 10 years in most
states.

o Benefits:

There is little question about enforcement , since
trustee holds and votes the shares.

They avoid problems of deadlocks among shareholders.

o Disadvantages:

Shareholders might be uncomfortable with turning over
possession of their shares to a trustee and the loss of
control that accompanies relinquishing possession.

Vote Pooling Agreement
o An agreement between or among, two or more shareholders
which states that the parties shares will be voted in a certain
way, based upon some criteria.

Vote pooling agreements are very flexible. They
can be used in a variety of situations, for example:

It may cover all shareholder votes or only certain
votes such as the election of directors;

It may be for an unlimited period of time or a
defined period;

It may cover a portion of a shareholders shares
or all of their shares (e.g. John will vote 60% of
his shares pursuant to a Vote pooling Agreement
with Sally, but he may vote the other 40% as he
chooses); and

It may delegate control to an individual who has a
relatively small ownership percentage.

There is no requirement that the person
who controls the shares under a Vote
Pooling Agreement and that persons
relative percentage of ownership in the
corporation correlate.

Shareholder Agreements
o Shareholder Agreements deal with a wide variety of matters.
(See Acing 143)

Limitation on Shareholder Voting Agreements:

o General Rule

Shareholders may agree on how they will act as
shareholders (i.e. they may agree that they will elect
each other onto the board of Directors),

But they MAY NOT:

agree on how the directors they elect will
act (because directors have fiduciary
duties); OR

agree that once they are on the Board of
Directors they will elect each other as
officers. (Acing 145)

o Exceptions:

Shareholders can agree on how they will vote as
directors IF:

1.) the agreement is signed by ALL the
shareholders (shareholder unanimity exception)

OR

2.) In some states, even if the all the share-
holders are not parties to the agreement, the
agreement is still enforceable provided that:

a.) the shares of the corporation are
closely held;

b.) the minority shareholders (i.e. they
were not a party to the agreement) do not
object (or cannot object); AND

c.) the agreement is reasonable.


Proxies: (Acing Biz Org--P.126--138)

A shareholder may vote his shares either in person OR by proxy
executed in writing by the shareholder OR his attorney in fact.

o A proxy is valid for only 11 months UNLESS it provides
otherwise. (Barbri, 22)

Proxies are subject to federal control under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. (Barbri, 22)

A. Proxy
Often a shareholder is not able to attend a meeting but would still
like to vote on a matter. In these instances, the shareholder may
give a proxy to someone else to vote that shareholders shares.

o A proxy is a written (or electronic) document which is given to
someone else, allowing them to vote on a persons behalf.
(Acing, 126)

It is a power of attorney given by the shareholder to
someone else to exercise the voting rights attached to
his shares. (Flem. 11)

o Proxies may give the holder discretion or no discretion in that
they may provide specific instructions on how the shares are
to be voted, or they may leave the discretion of how to vote
to the proxy holder.

Importance of Proxies:
o Proxies are often important because in order to have a
meeting of the shareholders of the corporation a quorum is
required.
A quorum is a minimum number of people, voters, or
votes (in this case shareholders), who must be present
at a meeting in order to make the meeting valid.
Without the use of proxies a corps shareholders would
be unable to vote because the quorum requirements
would not be met.

[quorum requirements are usually established by
statute, but may be modified subject to statutory
limitations).]

A typical quorum requirement for shareholder vote
would be 50% of votes, plus one. Because shareholders
vote based upon percentages, it is the number of
shares that is relevant and not the number of
shareholders.

Ex.
If a corporation has $5,000 shares issued
and an outstanding, 2,502 shares would be
required to be represented at a meeting in
order to have a quorum.

Revocability of Proxy: (Barbri, 23)

o An appointment of a proxy generally is REVOCABLE by a
shareholder and may be revoked in a number of ways.

Ex.
In writing
By the shareholder showing up to vote himself,
OR
By later appointment of another proxy.

o A proxy will be IRREVOCABLE only if:

the appointment form CONSPICIOUSLY states that it is
irrevocable; AND

the appointment is coupled with an interest

Ex.
A pledgee;

A person who purchased OR agreed to
purchase the shares;

A creditor of the corporation who extended
credit to the corp. under terms requiring
appointment;

An employee of the corp. whose
employment contract requires the
appointment; OR

A party to a voting agreement.

o The proxy may be irrevocable for as long as the interest
lasts. (Acing 144)

o Death or Incapacity of Shareholderappointing a proxy
does not affect the right of the corporation to accept the
authority of the proxy holder

UNLESS:

the corporate officer authorized to tabulate votes
receives written notice of the death or incapacity
prior to the time proxy holder exercises her
authority under the appointment. (Barbri, 23)

B. Proxy Holder
The person who is give the authority is called the proxy holder and
he becomes the shareholders agent to vote the shares in question.
(Flem. 11)

C. Solicitation of Proxies

Several rules in Regulation 14A, adopted under the SEC Act of 1934
govern the entire proxy process, regulating the manner and means
by which proxies may be obtained or solicited.

Prior to the time that any person makes a solicitation, the
person being solicited must 1
st
receive or/ have received a Proxy
statement. (SEC Rule 14a-3).

o Solicitation includes: (Acing 127)

Any request for a proxy

Any request to execute OR not to execute, OR to revoke
a proxy; and

Furnishing of a form or proxy or other communication,
reasonably calculated to result in the procurement,
withholding, or revocation of a proxy (See. Long Island
Lighting Co. v. Barbash)

Solicitation does not include: (Acing 128)

Public statements or speeches or advertisements
stating how a shareholder intends to vote AND
the reasoning behind the vote;

Solicitations by someone (other than an affiliate
of the corporation OR a party in interest) who
does not intend to act on anothers behalf;

Any solicitation made to 10 or fewer persons,
provided it is not made by the corporation; AND

Advice to any person with whom the person
furnishing the advice has a business relationship.

D. Proxy Fights

A proxy fightis a battle to obtain control of a corporation through
a vote of the shareholders.

o Insurgent groupthe group who wants to gain control and
oust existing management.

They attempt to gain control by soliciting proxies from a
large enough number of shareholders to elect its own
representatives to the Board of Directors.

Access to shareholders--Rule 14a-7 (SEC Act 1934)
provides that when an insurgent group wants to contact
shareholders and provide materials related to the
contested vote, EITHER:

1.) management may mail the insurgent groups
material to the shareholders directly and charge
the group for cost;

OR

2.) management can give the insurgent group a
copy of the shareholder list and let the insurgent
group distribute its own materials (this option is
generally disfavored by management. (Acing 129)

o Incumbent groupthe existing management


E. Reimbursement for Costs Associated with Obtaining Proxies:

Once the proxy battle is over and one side has won and the other
has lost, the parties often turns to the issue of reimbursement.

Incumbent directors/management can use corporate funds
to defend corporate policy (i.e. by waging proxy campaigns)
as long the expenses are not excessive or illegal AND the
shareholders are fully informed.

o The rules of reimbursement are the following:

1.) The corporation MAY NOT reimburse either
party, UNLESS the dispute involves a question of
corporate policy.

The dispute cannot be personali.e. an
argument that one group is better than the other.

NOTEbecause of this rule most proxy
battles are presented as matters involving
policy disputes.

2.) The corporation may ONLY reimburse
reasonable and proper expenses.

3.) The corporation may reimburse the
incumbents whether; AND

4.) The corporation may reimburse insurgents
only if they win AND the corporations
shareholders ratify the reimbursement, after full
disclosure.


Shareholder Proposals(Shareholders rights to include their proposals in
Proxy statements)(SEC Rule 14a-8):

IssueThe biggest question that arises in this area is

o What needs to be satisfied in order for a shareholder proposal
to qualify to be included in the proxy statement? (Acing
130)

The proposals must relate to certain areas over which the
shareholders have control.

o In order to satisfy the requirement that a proposal be within
an area which is a proper subject for action by the
shareholders, most proposals are worded as
recommendations, rather than mandates and are nonbinding
in nature.

Shareholder proposals have both procedural and substantive
requirements they must meet.

o Procedural requirements (to be eligible to submit a
proposal):

A shareholder must hold $2,000 in market value of the
companys stock, and have held it continuously, for the
12 months preceding the proposal;

A shareholder may not submit more than one proposal
for each shareholders meeting;

A proposal may not exceed 500 words

Most proposals must be submitted to the company at
least 120 days before the companys proxy statement is
released; AND

Either the shareholder or shareholders qualified
representative must attend the meeting at which the
proposal is to be considered.

o Substantive Requirements (if these requirements are
not met the proposal will be EXCLUDED):

The topic must be the proper subject for actions by
shareholders under state law;

The proposal may not cause the company to violate any
law;

The proposal may not address personal grievance or
special interest which is not applicable to other
shareholders;

If the proposal relates to the companys operations,
those operations must involve at least 5% of the
companys assets, net earnings or gross sales OR the
operations must otherwise be significantly related to the
companys business;

Proxy can not violate proxy rules by including material
misleading statements;

The proposal may not be beyond the companys power
to implement;

The proposal may not address management functions
such as the companys ordinary business operations;

The proposal may not relate to specific amounts of cash
or stock dividends; and

The proposal may not directly conflict with one of the
companys own proposals, being submitted at the same
meeting.

In addition, the proposal can be excluded by company if
it was previously submitted within the last 5yrs and did
not receive the require percentage of votes. (Acing,
132)

Shareholder Inspection Rights

Right to shareholder lists:

o Shareholders have an unqualified right to obtain a list of other
shareholders and their addresses.

Right to inspection of corporate records:

o Shareholders have a right to inspect corporate books and
records IF Shareholder has a proper (or legitimate)
business purpose.

ExProper purpose:

Shareholder wants to solicit support (consistent
with proxy rules) for a shareholder proposal.

Effort to gain control of corporation an effort to
gain a shareholder list for someone else trying to
gain control of the corporation

Effort to investigate alleged corporate
mismanagement or malfeasance

Effort to gather information to asses the value of
ones shares; and

An effort to communicate with other shareholders
in connection with a proxy fight or a shareholder
proposal. (Acing P.133-1334)

Improper purpose:
Finding potential customers for a personal
business venture;

Persuading the corporation to adopt ones social
or political concerns, (irrespective of any
economic benefit to the shareholders of the
corporation)See State Ex Rel. Pillsbury v.
Honeywell, inc.

To institute a suit without substantive basis

Seeking proprietary information (i.e. trade secrets
or other intellectual property); and

Seeking information to aid a competitor of the
corporation.




Closely Held Corporation & Public Company

Public company

o In a public company the stock is often owned by
thousands of shareholders, most of whom do not know
each other.

o The stock of the corporation (or at least one class of
stock) has been registered with the SEC and may be
bought or sold on one of the public exchanges (i.e. the
New York Stock Exchange or NASDQ).

o Battles for controlIn public companies battles for control can
take the form of proxy fights or tender offers.


Closely held Corporation

o A closely held corporations stock is typically held by a
relative few number of shareholders.

o Its shares are not publically traded and sales of stock
take place in private transactions, typically requiring an
exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933
Act.

o Closely held corporations are often also called private
companies and often have shareholders who also serve
on the Board of Directors and hold positions as officers
as well.

o Battles for controlthe struggle for control often focuses on
a shareholders ability to control votes, often through
agreements or structure of the business.

FREEZE-OUTS: (Acing 110/148-155)

Ask Prof about the Delaware (Majority rule) and Massachusettes rule
(Minority rule)

A freeze out involves a situation in which a minority shareholder is
blocked from holding a paid position with the corporation (i.e.
position as an officer or employee), by the majority.

o It is not just the actions or circumstances that are relevant in
evaluating a freeze out, but also the intent behind the
actions and the circumstances.

o Freeze outs are not always actionableA shareholder who
owns a minority position in a corporation must know that
being frozen out is a possibility--based on the mathematical
realities of the situations.

o Ex. Of an unlawful freeze out:

Dominant shareholder pays herself a salary well in
excess of a reasonable salary leaving no funds to
distribute to the minority shareholders.

Dominant shareholder (Acing 110-115,120)

o Generally, shareholders do not owe each other fiduciary
duties to other shareholders.

o However, because a dominant shareholder has more influence
over the corporation and over the Board of Directors, there
are certain instances when dominant shareholders are bound
by certain fiduciary duties. In these instances only certain
duty of loyalty transactions are implicated.

In the instance of a dominant shareholder the board is
not allowed to cleanse the transaction and ratification
by disinterested shareholders just shifts the burden of
proof to PL. (Acing 111).

o Determining whether a shareholder is dominant?

Question to askwhether the holdings of a particular
shareholder is enough to exert control, over the
corporation.
Ex. If one shareholder has 25% of corp. stock and
all other shareholders each hold 1% (or less),
then the shareholder with 25% might very well be
dominant. (Acing 112)

NOTEA group of shareholders acting together , might
also be considered to be a dominant shareholder.


o Freeze-Outs--Partnership Like Analysis (Wilkes
case)(Acing 152)
Shareholders in closely held corporations owe each
other a duty of good faith.
In a freeze out, the majority, or controlling group must
have a legitimate business purpose for its action, and,
even if there is a legitimate business purpose, the
minority shareholder will still have the opportunity to
show that the same legitimate objective could have
been achieved through an alternative course of action
less harmful to the minority interest.

RULE 10b-5

Who can use it?
o Rule 10b-5 can be used by the SEC and by private individuals
in pursuing fraud claims.

Purpose of the Rule:

o It creates liability for anyone who makes misleading
representations or omission that is connected to the purchase
and sale of a security.

o Rule 10b-5 is also used to restrict insider trading. In fact the
rules greatest impact is to prohibit instances of trading
securities on the basis of inside information.

o The rule is not about correcting every wrong, it is about full
disclosure. Once full and fair disclosure is made, the fairness
of the transaction is not an issue under federal law.

Rule statement:

o Under rule 10b-5, it is unlawful for any person, directly or
indirectly, by the use of any means or instrumentality of
interstate commerce or the mails , or of any facility of any
national securities exchange in connection with the purchase
of any security to:

1.) employ any device , scheme, or artifice to
defraud;

2.) Make any untrue statement of a material fact
or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made not
misleading; OR

3.) Engage in any cat, practice, or course of business
that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit
upon any person,

o in connection with the purchase of any security. A
violation of the rule can result in a private suit for damages,
an SEC suit for injunctive relief , or criminal prosecution.


If Plaintiff is a Private Person: To recover damages under rule
10b-5 a private plaintive must show: (Barbri 60-62)

o 1.) Fraudulent conduct:

PL must show DF engaged in some fraudulent conduct
by either:

making a material misstatement OR
making a material omission

o 2.)Materiality:

A statement will be considered material if there is a
substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would
consider it important in making her investment
decision.
No bright line test exists, but a plaintiff need not
prove that the information us statistically
significant or valid.

o 3.) Scienter:

The conduct complained of must have been undertaken
with an intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud.
The Supreme Court has held that statements
made knowingly suffice, but negligence alone
does not suffice. However, some courts have held
that deliberate recklessness does suffice.

o 4.) in connection with Plaintiffs Purchase or Sale of a
Security:

The fraudulent conduct must be in connection with the
purchase or sale of a security by the plaintiff.

The term in connection is interpreted broadly.

The term INCLUDES transactions such as
exchanges of stock assets, mergers,
contracts to sell, etc.

It EXCLUDES potential purchasers who did
not buy (because of the fraud) and people
who already own shares and refrain from
selling (because of the fraud).

Rule 10b-5 applies to ANY security, in both a
public corporation and closely held corporation.
(Acing 175)

The focus is on a sale or purchase by the plaintiff.
The defendant need not have purchased or sold
any securities.

E.g. A nontrading DF, such as a company
that intentionally publishes a misleading
press release, can be held liable to a person
who purchased or sold securities on the
market on the basis of the press release.

NOTEDistinction between private PL and
Gov.:

A private plaintiff can not bring an action
based on DFs status as an aider and
abettor of other defendants fraud.

However, the government may base an
action on aiding and abetting.

o 5.) Interstate commerce:
The fraudulent conduct must involve some means of
interstate commerce.
E.g. Use of a telephone OR mail will suffice.

o 6.) Reliance:
If a plaintiff brings a private action, there must be a
showing that he or she actually AND justifiably relied on
the defendants misrepresentation.

OMMISSIONS: In the case of an omission reliance is
presumed.

There are some cases in which a company or an
officer of the company has a duty to speak but do
not, in such cases, the companys failure to speak
is considered an omission.

Rationale:
o Given the duty to disclose, a person is
entitled to rely that appropriate
disclosures will be made. In effect,
they can rely that on silence as a
statement that there are no material
information that the company is
required to disclose , which has not
been disclosed. (Acing 180)

FRAUD ON THE MAKET THEORY: Under the fraud
on the market theory, in a misrepresentation
action on securities sold in a well defined market
(e.g. the national stock exchange), reliance on
any public misrepresentations may be presumed.
(Barbri, 62)

This theory is generally applied in instances
involving a misrepresentation (usually
involving a large group of people), which
involve an affirmative statement (NOT an
omission), in which plaintiff cannot show
that they each relied on the statement.
(Acing 180)

o The fraud on the market theory was
developed as a way to show how a
large group of people could have
relied on a misstatement.

The fraud on the market theory creates a
rebuttable presumption that, even if the plaintiff
did not hear the misstatement, there was still
reliance. (Acing 180)

The theory creates a presumption that the
investor relied on the integrity of the
market price and so the investor does not
even need to have seen or heard the
misrepresentation to satisfy the reliance
element.

If DF wanted to avoid liability, DF would need to
rebut the theory by showing that the
misrepresentation: 1.) did NOT affect the market
price; 2.) DF issued corrective statements which
were also priced into the market; 3.) PLs would
have bought OR sold anyway, even with full
disclosure; OR 4.) DF did not rely on the integrity
of the market.

Fraud on the ONLY works when there is an
efficient market, It does NOT apply in private
transactions.

o 7.) Causation:

The plaintiff has to show that statement caused the
loss.
It is not enough to show that the
misrepresentation caused the transaction.

The plaintiff needs to show that the
misrepresentation caused the lass itself.
(Acing 181)

o 8.) Damages:

Plaintiff must be able to show injury/damages.
Damages in a 10b-5 may take the form of:

Actual damages:
o Difference between the price actually
paid/or received AND the price that
should have been paid without the
10b-5 violation.

consequential damages

Punitive damages (in extreme cases)

NotePrivate plaintiffs have to prove two additional
elements (Reliance & damages)ASK PROF!!!


INSIDER TRADING--Rule 10(b)(5)-1

o Insider trading involves a very specific trade under 10b-5 in
which someone deceives by omission. The omission is that
the person is in possession of information, which if known,
would impact the price of the security. The securities laws try
to prevent theses situations by restricting the ability of
someone in possession of such information to use it to profit
from trading.

o A person violates rule 10b-5 if by trading, he or she breaches
a duty of trust and confidence owed to: 1.) the issuer; 2.)
shareholders of the issuer; 3.) or in the case of
misappropriators. (Barbri 62)

o There is NO requirement of reliance or causation, ONLY
scienter and materiality. (Acing 192).

o Insider trading falls into two categories Traditional insider
Trading and Misappropriation. (Acing 192).

o RULE STATEMENT:

Under 10(b)(5)-1, an individual is prohibited from
trading securities on the basis of inside
information. A person violates this section if by
trading, he or she breaches a duty of trust and
confidence owed to: (1) the issuer; (2) the
shareholders of the issuer; (3.) or in the case of
misappropriation.

Two different types of people can be liable for
insider tradingthe insiders who have access to
the inside information and the people who give
and receive tips based on the inside information
(tippers and tippees).

Tippers:
Tippers are individuals who give tips of inside
information to someone else who trades on the
basis of such information.

Tippees:
A tippee is the individual that receives the inside
information from the tipper.

o Insiders:
An insider is anyone who by virtue of his /her position
with the company owe a duty of trust and confidence to
their corporation and breaches the duty by trading on
inside information for their personal benefit. (Barbri
62/Acing 191)

Ex. of Insiders: directors, officers, controlling
shareholders, and employees of the issuer, etc.

Ex. Constructive insider: (also owe duty of trust and
confidence):
A securities issuers CPA, attorneys, accountant,
underwriter, consultant bankers performing
services for the issuer, etc.


Tipper-Tippee Liability (Traditional AnalysisPrior to
OHagan case)

o IMPORTANT--The above analysis involves a typical;
situation in which an insider actually trades on that
information. However, individuals might also share inside
information with others.

o The insider trading rules limit the dissemination of material,
non-public information (tipping) by someone in possession
of information (the tipper) and prohibit the use of that
information by the recipient (the tippee). Also, tipper/tippee
liability must also be based upon breach of duty AND, with
regard to the tippee, knowledge of that breach of duty.

An insider is only liable for tipping if he or she violated a
fiduciary duty by providing the tip.

In this analysis, the law is only interested in the duty of
loyalty.


o Tipper Liability:
A tipper is laible if he or she:

1.) Discloses material, non-public
information to others (i.e. did he or she tip any
one?); AND

2.) that disclosure is made in breach of a
fiduciary duty of loyalty (OR in the case of a
tippee turned tipper with the knowledge that the
information was obtained as a result of breach of
a fiduciary duty of loyalty); AND

The existence of a breach is measured by
whether the tipper personally benefitted,
directly or indirectly, from the disclosure.

o A personal benefit is broadly defined.

It can include any consideration,
such as a monetary benefit, a
tip in exchange for a tip, an
enhanced reputation, or even a
gift.
o A personal benefit is not the desire to
do public good.

3.) Someone trades on that information.

o A tipper is liable if anyone along the
chain of information dissemination
trades on the information, not just the
tippers direct tippee.

NOTE---The tipper is not liable f no personal
benefit is received OR if no one trades on the
information.


o Tippees Liability:

A tippees liability is based completely on the tippers
liability. If there is no breach of duty by the tipper,
there can be no liability. If the tipper has no liability,
then the tippee can not have liability.

The tippee can inherit the tippers fiduciary
duty to the shareholders of the corporation not to
trade on material non-public, information ONLY
when:

1.) tippee receives material, non-public
information which was disclosed in
breach of a fiduciary duty by an insider
for the insiders personal benefit at the
company whos stock is being/or will
be traded, AND

2.) the tippee knows OR should know,
that the tip was a breach of the tippers
duty;
o Ex. If insider provides a tip in
exchange for money , the tippee only
needs to know that the insider tipped
for money, not that tipping for money
constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty.

3.) the tippee trades on that
information;

OR

Provides the information to others (i.e.
tips and becomes a tipper), receives a
personal benefit for the tip and
someone trades on that information.


o NOTEA person can be liable both as a tipper and a
tippee:

Any tippeee who knowingly receives material,
non-public information, arising out of an insiders
breach of duty, can also be liable as a tipper if
that individual passes that information along to
others in exchange for a personal benefit.

o If by overhearing the inside information, the person realizes
(or should realize) that he or she is overhearing a breach of
duty, then they may not trade on the information.

o A tipper may protect its tippees from liability by not telling
the tippee the source of the information.

If the tippee does not know the source of the
information, the tippee can not know or have reason to
know of the breach.

Also, if the tippee truly did not know the source of the
information, the information might not be material.


MISAPPROPRIATION (PostUnited States v. OHagan)

o Background:
Prior to the OHagan case, in order to find liability, one
needed to show that the defendant breached a duty (or
in the case tippee liability, that the information arose
out of a breach of duty) to the company in whose stock
the defendant had traded.

o The misappropriation theory broadens liability to
extend to those who breach a duty to the source of the
information.
Instead of asking about a breach of fiduciary duty to the
company, the misappropriation theory asks about
fiduciary duties to the source of the information and
about whether DF breached (or knew about breach of) a
duty arising out of the relationship of trust and
confidence to the source of the information.

o COMPLETE RULE:

A person commits fraud in a securities transaction
when he or she misappropriates material, non-
public information in breach of a duty (typically a
duty of trust and confidence ) owed to the source
of the information, AND does not disclose his
intentions to trade on that information.

NOTE
The breach of duty is NOT just a fiduciary
duty owed to the company whose stock is
being traded; rather a breach of duty owed
to the source of the information.

In traditional insider trading, if there is no
breach of duty by the insider, there can be
no violation by the tippee, but under
misappropriation a breach of duty can arise
at any point in the chain of information
dissemination. (Acing 202)

o In evaluating whether there might be
misappropriation liability, one needs
to ask if anyone along the chain of
information dissemination breached a
fiduciary duty or a duty arising out of
a relationship of trust and confidence.
(Acing 190)

Since Rule 10b-5 requires some fraud or
deception under the misappropriation
theory the fraud or deception occurs when
the misappropriation deceives the source of
the information by letting the source believe
the information will be treated as
confidential.

As in the traditional insider trading, tippees
who do not trade, do not become liable,
UNLESS they become a tipper and acquire
tipper liability. (Acing 204)

o Short Exam Rule statement (for Misappropriation):

Under 10(b)(5)2, a person can be prosecuted by
the government for trading on market information
in breach of a duty of trust and confidence owed
to the source of the information. Under a
misappropriation theory, the duty need not be to
the shareholder.

o List of Circumstances under Rule 10(b)-5 under which
people will be deemed to owe a duty of trust and
confidence in a misappropriation case: (Non-exhaustive)

1.) when a person agrees to maintain information in
confidence

2.) the parties have a history of sharing confidences

3.) When the person receives the information from a
spouse, child, parent or sibling (unless person can
prove they had no reason to know the information was
confidential). (Acing 201)


RULE 14e3 and Insider Trading Relating to Tender
offers:(Acing 205-207)


SECTION 16(b)SHORT SWING PROFITS (This is a rigid
rule-it either applies or does not)

o The purpose of section 16(b) is to prevent unfair use of inside
information and internal manipulation of price. This is
accomplished by imposing strict liability for covered
transactions whether or not there is any material fact that
should or could have been disclosed NO PROOF OF USE OF
INSIDE INFORMATION IS REQUIRED. (Barbri, 64)

o This rule DOES NOT APPLY to closely held corporations.

o This rule APPLIES TO publicly held corporations whose
shares are traded on a national exchange OR that have at
least 500 shareholders in any outstanding class and more
than $10 million in assets.

o RULE:

Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 provides that any profit realized by a
director, officer, or shareholder owning more
than 10% of the outstanding shares of the
corporation from any purchase and sale, or sale
and purchase, of any equity security of the
corporation within a period of less than six
months must be returned to the corporation.
(Barbri, 64)


o Elements:

1.) Purchase and Sale or Sale and purchase within
six months;

2.) Equity Security;

An equity security, is a security other than a pure
debt instrument, including options, warrants,
preferred stock, common stock, etc.

3.) Officer, Director, or More than Ten Percent
Shareholder;

Deputization of Director:

A person may deputize another person to
act as his representative on the board. In
these cases, securities transactions of the
principal will come within section 16(b).

4.) Profits realized
Includes not only traditional profits, but also
losses avoided.


SARBANES-OXLEY ACT of 2002 (SOA)ASK PROF HOW
MUCH WE NEED TO KNOW!!

o The Act was an effort to increase disclosure by, and oversight
of, publicly traded companies in the wake of the Enron
scandal.

o Some of the requirements of the Act are:

1.) A publicly traded companys president or CEO as
well as its Chief Financial Officer (aka Treasurer) must
sign its financial statements, verifying these officers
have each reviewed the statements, the statements are
accurate, and that the signatory takes responsibility for
what is in the statements.

2.) Public companies may not make personal loans to
their officers or directors and must adopt a code of
ethics for their respective CEOs and various financial
officers.

3.) SOA requires that attorneys who represent publicly
held companies report evidence of material violation of
the securities laws OR breach of fiduciary duty OR
similar violation by the company or any agent thereof
to the company chief legal officer or CEO.

If proper action is not taken in response to such a
report, the attorney is then required to refer the
matter to a higher authority within the company.

For more information see--Acing 186/Barbri 66


MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

o Merger:
A merger occurs when two companies come together to
form one company.
If one of the two original companies survives then the
process is called merger.
The term is used to describe any combination of firms.

o Consolidation:
If the combination results in a new company, then the
process is called a consolidation.

o There are three basic ways companies may combine:

1.) Statutory merger:

A statutory merger involves a combination in
accordance with applicable state law.

In traditional mergers the two companies
negotiate the percentage ownership that each
respective companys shareholders will have in
the new firm.
In a merger/consolidation the consideration
passes to the Target shareholders.

Transaction must be approved by the
shareholders of both companies
Shareholders who do not approve the
transaction are typically entitled to appraisal
rights, UNLESS both companies are
publically traded.

2.) Sale of Assets:
Occurs when one company purchases the assets
of another.

In a sale of assets the Acquirer corporation gives
the Target corporation either stock or cash (or
some combination of cash and stock) in exchange
for the Target corporations assets.
Following the sale the Target corporation
usually has few or no assets, other than the
consideration paid to the Acquirer.

In a sale of assets, the Target must usually make
its creditors aware of the sale so that creditors
may make a claim against the consideration being
paid for the Targets assets.

Once the Targets creditors have been paid and
the Target has received the balance of the
consideration paid by the Acquirer, the Target
may then, issue a liquidating dividend to its
shareholders.

If the target has a substantial number of assets,
the sale of assets can be a more complicated
process than a statutory merger because, among
other requirements, a sale of assets will require
the transfer of ownership of each of the specific
asset of the Target corp.

In a sale of assets the shareholders of the Target
corp. are entitled to vote on a sale of all or
substantially all of the assets.

In Delaware the shareholders of the Acquirer
corp. are not entitled to vote, but some other
states do allow shareholders in the Acquirer corp.
to vote on transactions involving the sale of
assets.

In Delaware, dissenting shareholders in the
Target corp. are NOT entitled to appraisal rights,
BUT some states so allow the Target company
shareholders in a sale of asset transaction
appraisal rights.

Dissenting shareholders in the Acquirer corp. are
NOT entitled to appraisal rights.

The acquiring corporation will obtain the Target
corps assets, BUT NOT its liabilities (Acing 223-
24)

3.) Sale of Stock:

A stock sale involves the purchase of the stock of
one company by another.
Since the Target company provides stock
instead of assets, the Target corporation
winds up as a subsidiary of the Acquirer
corp. As a result, there are two surviving
corporations instead of one.

Since the Target corporation survives, its
liabilities also survive.


o NOTETechnically the first process is a merger or a
consolidation and a sale of stock or assets is an acquisition.

o In most basic of mergers one company is identified as the
acquirer while the other is identified as the Target.


De Facto Merger Doctrine:

o The Defacto Merger Doctrine is applied when a company
manipulates the form of a transaction to avoid a result which
would have applied had the transaction been accomplished in
a more traditional manner. (Acing 227)

Rationale: When a shareholder is faced with a
transaction that so fundamentally changes the
corporate character of a corporation and the interest of
the plaintiff as a shareholder therein, to refuse him the
rights and remedies of a dissenting shareholder would
in reality force him to give up his stock in one
corporation and against his will accept shares in
another. (Farris v. Glen Allen Corp.this case is in
the new casebook)


o Under the de facto merger doctrine, if the transaction has the
substantive effect of a merger, then the shareholders of the
companies involved in the transaction are entitled to the
same statutory protections they would have received had
there been a merger. (Acing 227)

o Delaware and a majority of jurisdictions do not recognize the
de facto merger doctrine,

because the courts have reasoned that states have
different processes to achieve the same results and, as
long as the process is legal, courts should not recast the
transactions which would only increase uncertainty and
litigation (See Hariton v. Arco Electronics). (Acing
227)

FREEZE OUT MERGERS:

o Freeze out mergers (aka cash out mergers) are a process
by which, in some states, a majority shareholder may force
the minority shareholders to sell their stock in a merger with
(or acquisition by) an entity owned by the majority
shareholder(s), enabling the majority shareholder(s) to
acquire 100% control of the company.

o These transactions involve a conflict of interest.

The standards for reviewing transactions involving a
controlling shareholder and a conflict of interest and a
merger is entire fairness. (Acing 228)Cross check
with class notes!!!

The entire fairness standard requires that the
transaction be accomplished by both 1) a fair
process (i.e. fair dealing) and 2.) fair price.--
THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IS IN YOUR
NOTES!!! (See Week 12)

As long as the majority shareholder
effectuates the freeze out merger at a fair
price and by a fair process, then the merger
may proceed.

o Different states have different requirements for cash
out mergers:

California & DelawareShort Form Merger
(Freeze out/cash out):
California will only allow a majority shareholder to
cash out the minority in a short form merger
in which the majority own at least 90% of the
corporation and the transaction must be approved
by the California Commissioner of Corporations.
(Acing 229)

Statutory Short Form Mergers:
Short form mergers are often used following
tender offers to eliminate any remaining minority
shareholders. (Acing 229)


HOSTILE ACQUISITIONS:

Unlike Freeze Out Mergers (and statutory short form mergers)
were both firms Board of Directors must agree in order for the
transaction to proceed, there are situations in which one firm or
individual wants to acquire another, and the Board of Directors of
the Target firm does not want to be acquired or does not want to be
acquired by that particular person or firm. (Acing 230)

o The process of excluding the Board from an effort to
acquire control of a company is generally referred to as
hostile.

o There are three main approaches that might be used to
circumvent the Targets Board of Directors: (Acing 230)

Tender offersare a public offer, usually made to all
the shareholders of the Target corporation wherein the
Offeror offers to buy all of the Targets shares at a
specific price. (Acing 230)

NOTE:
Any person who commences a tender offer
in an effort to acquire more than 5% of a
company must comply with the extensive
rules and regulations arising under sections
14(d) and 14(e) of the 1934 Act. --(Acing
231)

Direct Share Purchasesinvolve direct purchases of
stock by the potential acquirer in the public market or
privately negotiated transactions with limited number of
shareholders.

Proxy Contestis a battle for control of the Targets
Board of Directors through the shareholder voting
process.


TAKEOVERS: (Acing 230-31)

o Hostile Takeovers
A hostile takeover involves an effort to acquire sufficient
shares to control the board of Directors, and then
replacing the board of Directors with the Acquirers own
slate of directors.

This process is often followed by some form of
statutory merger of the acquired Target entity
into an entity controlled by the Acquirer and may
or may not involve cashing out the remaining
shareholders.

Defense Tactics: (Acing 232)
o Below are some of the tactics companies use to resist hostile
takeovers:

1.) Greenmail:
Greenmail involves a payment made to a potential
acquirer to incentivize them to leave the company
alone.

It usually occurs when..

2.) White knight:
3.) Poison pill:
4.) Share Repurchases:
5.) Staggered Board:
6.) Shark repellent:
7.) Golden Parachutes:
8.) Pac-man Defense:

Fiduciary Duties in Takeover Defenses: (Acing 234)
o

DISSOLUTION & LIQUIDATION