1)All sales and purchases within 6
months are included;
2)Damages calculated as to maximize
the gain to he company;
3)Match highest sale price against
lowest purchase price within relevant period; continue until you can go no
further.
d)Insiders--insiders are
officers (named officers and those persons functioning as officers), dirs
(actually serving or who authorized deputization of another), and beneficial
owners of more than 10% of the shares. Insider status for officers and dirs is
determined at the time they made a purchase or sale. Transactions made before
taking office is NOT within section 16(b), but those made after leaving office
are subject to the statute if they can be matched with a transaction made while
in office. Liability is imposed on a beneficial owner only if he owned more
than 10% of the shares at the time of both the purchase and sale.
e)”Purchase or Sale”--this
includes any purchase of stock. Unorthodox transactions that result in the
acquisition or deposition of stock (e.g., merger for stock, redemption of
stock) are also purchases and sales.
E.SECTION 16(B) COMPARED TO RULE 10B-5:
a)Covered Securities--Section
16(b) applies to securities registered under the 1934 act; rule 10b-5
applies to all securities.
b)Inside Information--Section
16(b) allows recovery for short-swing profits regardless of whether they
are attributable to misrepresentations or inside info; rule 10b-5 recovery is
available only where there was a misrepresentation or a trade based on
inside info.
c)Plaintiff--recovery
under section 16(b) belongs to the corp, while rule 10b-5 recovery belongs to
the injured purchaser or seller.
d)Overlapping Liability--it
is possible that insiders who make short-swing profits by use of inside info could
be liable under both section 16(b) and rule 10b-5.
F.COMMON LAW LIABILITY FOR INSIDER TRADING--insider
trading constitutes breach of fiduciary duties owed to the corp, so the corp
can recover profits made from insider trading
a)Common Law Liability Compared To
Section 16(b) Liability--both common law and section 16(b) liability
run against insiders and in favor of the corp. However, unlike section 16(b),
the common law theory applies to all corps (not just those with registered
securities), recovery can be had against any corporate insider, the
purchase and sale is NOT limited by a six-month period, and the transaction must
be based on the inside info.
b)Common Law Liability Compared to
Rule 10b-5 Liability--the theories of recovery are similar except that
under the common law recovery runs to the corp (not to the injured purchaser or
seller), there is no purchaser or seller requirement, and noninsiders (tippees)
have not yet been held liable.
VII.RIGHTS OF SHAREHOLDERS
A.VOTING RIGHTS
1.RIGHT TO VOTE IN GENERAL--shs may
generally vote for the election and removal of dirs, to amend the articles or
bylaws, and on major corporate action or fundamental changes.
a)Who May Vote--the right
to vote is held by shs of record as of the record date;
b)Restrictions on Right--shares
may be either voting or nonvoting, or have multiple votes per share.
2.SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS--generally,
shs can act only at meetings duly called and noticed at which a quorum is
present.
a)Compare--informal action--statutes
permit sh action without a meeting if there is unanimous written consent of all
shs entitled to vote.
3.SHAREHOLDER VOTING
a)Straight Voting--this
system of voting allows one vote for each share held and applies to all
matters other than director elections, which may be subject to cumulative
voting. Certain fundamental changes (e.g., merger) frequently require higher
shareholder approval.
b)Cumulative Voting For Director--this
system allows each share one vote for each director to be elected, and
the votes may be cast all for one candidate or divided among candidates as the
sh chooses, thereby helping minority shs to elect a dir. Cumulative voting may
be mandatory or permissive.
4.VOTING BY PROXY--a proxy authorizes
another person to vote a shareholder’s shares. The proxy usually must be in
writing, and its effective period is statutorily limited unless it is
validly irrevocable.
a)Revocability--a proxy is
normally revocable by the sh at any time, although it may be made irrevocable
if expressly stated and coupled with an interest in the shares
themselves. Absent written notice to the corp, the death or incapacity of a sh
does NOT revoke a proxy. a sh may revoke a proxy by notifying the proxy holder,
giving a new proxy to someone else, or by personally attending the meeting and
voting.
b)Proxy Solicitation--almost
all shs of publicly held corps vote by proxy. Solicitations of proxies are
regulated by the Securities Exchanges Act of 1934 Section 14a, federal proxy
rules and, in some cases, state law. Federal proxy rules apply to the
solicitation of all proxies of registered securities, but NOT to nonmanagement
solicitation of 10 or fewer shs. The term “solicitation” is broadly interpreted
by the SEC to include any part of a plan leading to a formal solicitation,
e.g., inspection of shareholder list.
1)1992 amendments--the SEC
revised the proxy rules to make it easier for shs to communicate with each
other. Significant changes include: a safe harbor for communications that don’t
involve solicitation of voting authority, relaxation of requirements involving
broadcast of published communications, relaxed preliminary filing requirements
for solicitations, and removing communications between shs concerning proxy
voting from definition of “solicitation.”
2)Requirement of Full Disclosure--the
proxy rules require full and accurate disclosure of all pertinent facts and the
identities of all proxy participants, disclosure of compensation paid to
certain officers and dirs, and disclosure of conflict-of-interest transactions
involving more than $60, 000.
3)Inclusion of Shareholder
Proposal--shareholder proposals must be included in corporate proxy
materials if the proponent is a record owner or beneficial owner of at least 1%
or $1000 worth of securities entitled to vote on the matter. The proposal must
not exceed 500 words.
I)Exceptions--a proposal
need NOT be included if it: is not a proper subject for shareholder action,
would be illegal, is false or misleading, seeks redress of a personal claim,
relates to operations accounting to less than 5% of the corp’s total assets and
is not otherwise related to the corp’s business, concerns a matter beyond the
corp’s power to effectuate, relates to ordinary business operations, relates
to an election to office, is counter to a proposal submitted by the corp at the
same meeting, is moot or duplicate, deals with the same subject matter as a
very unsuccessful prior proposal, or relates to specific amounts of cash or
stock dividends.
ii)Private right of action--a
private right of action is available to a sh whose proposal was rejected by the
corp on the ground that it fails within one of the exceptions.
iii)Providing shareholder
lists--a sh has a right to obtain a list of shs or to have his
communication included with the corporate proxy materials.
4)Remedies for violation of proxy
rules--these include suit by the SEC to enjoin violations or to set aside
an election and individual suits, class actions, or derivative suits by the shs
(In a private suit, the P must show materiality and causation, but
causation is normally presumed from materiality. Fairness to the corp is NOT a
defense to a violation of proxy rules ). The court may rescind corporate action
resulting from a misleading proxy solicitation or award damages.
c)Expenses Incurred In Proxy
Contests--corporate funds may be used by management with respect to
reasonable proxy solicitation expenses incurred in order to obtain a quorum for
the annual meeting or regarding controversy over corporate policy (as opposed
to a personnel controversy). The corp may, with sh approval, voluntarily
pay the reasonable expenses to insurgents who win a proxy contest involving
policy.
5.OTHER METHODS TO COMBINE VOTES FOR
CONTROL (CLOSE CORPORATIONS)--other methods include shareholder
voting agreements which may be enforced by specific performance, agreements
regarding greater-than-majority approval, shareholder agreements binding the
discretion of dirs, and voting trusts.
B.RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER OF SHARES--although
most frequently used in close corps, stock transfer restrictions may also be
imposed by larger corps (e.g., to restrict ownership to employees). The two
most common types of restriction are a right of first refusal and a mandatory
sell-buy provision. Restrictions must be reasonable and will be strictly
construed.
a)Notice Requirements--a
lawful stock transfer restriction is of no effect unless noted conspicuously
on the stock certificate. If there is no such notice, an innocent transferee is
entitled ti have the shares transferred to him.
C.SHAREHOLDERS’ INFORMATIONAL RIGHTS:
1.TYPES OF BOOKS AND RECORDS--these
include shareholder lists, minutes, financial records, and business documents.
2.COMMON LAW--at CL, a sh has a right
to inspect records for proper purpose.
3.STATUTES--statutes govern these
rights in most states. Many statutes apply only to certain shs but are usually
interpreted to supplement the common law. Most statutes preserve the proper
purpose test, but place the burden on the corp to prove improper purpose.
4.PROPER VERSUS IMPROPER PURPOSES--the test is whether the sh is seeking to protect
the sh interest. Multiple purposes that include a proper one usually will
not preclude inspection. Generally, a sh can inspect the sh list because it is
often necessary to the exercise of other rights like proxy fights, sh
litigation, etc. Inspection of a sh list for proxy contest is a proper purpose.
However, it has been held that corporate records cannot be examined solely for
the purpose of advancing political and social views or to aid a sh as a
litigant on a personal, non-shareholder claim.
5.COMPARE--MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF
INFORMATION--a sh’s inspection right is separate and distinct from the
statutory requirements governing the affirmative disclosure of certain
information by corps (e.g., Section 12 of Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
proxy rules, state statutes).
D.FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS OF CONTROLLING
SHAREHOLDERS--a controlling sh owes a fiduciary duty in his business
dealings with the corp, in taking advantage of corp opportunities (rules
more lenient than those applied to dirs and officers), and in causing
fundamental changes.
1.ACTIONS ENTIRELY IN SHAREHOLDER
CAPACITY--a controlling sh must NOT act to benefit himself at the expense
of the minority shs; i.e., in a transaction where control of the corp is
material, he must act with good faith and inherent fairness toward the
minority.
2.OBLIGATIONS OF SHAREHOLDERS IN CLOSE
CORPORATIONS--both majority and minority shs owe each other an even
stricter duty (utmost good faith and loyalty) than is owed by controlling shs
in publicly held corps. This duty has been interpreted to mean that there must
be equal treatment of all shs, i.e., they must be afforded equal
opportunities.
3.DISCLOSURE--a controlling sh must
make full disclosure when dealing with minority shs.
4.SALE OF CONTROL--in most jurisdictions,
a controlling sh is permitted to sell his stock at a premium, i.e, a price not
available to other shs. Exceptions to these rule include a bare sale of office
(invalid), the corporate action theory, sales involving fraud or nondisclosure,
and knowing sales to transferees who plan to loot or deal unfairly with the
corp.
E.SHAREHOLDER SUITS
1.DIRECT (INDIVIDUAL) SUITS--a direct
suit may be brought by a sh on his own behalf for injuries to sh
interests. If the injury affects a number of shs, the suit may be brought as a
class action.
2.DERIVATIVE SUITS--if a duty owed to
the corp has been abridged, suit may be brought by a sh on behalf of the
corp.
a)Distinguish Direct From Derivative
Suits--the test is whether the injury was suffered by the corp directly
or by the sh, and to whom the D’s duty was owed
1)Close corporations--in some
cases, minority shs have been allowed to bring a direct action against
controlling shs for breach of fiduciary duty
b)Prerequisite to Suit--Exhaustion
of Corporate Remedies--the P-sh must specifically plead and prove that
he exhausted his remedies within the corporate structure
1)Demand on directors--the
P-sh must make a demand on the dirs to remedy the wrong, unless such demand
would have been futile. Note that in the absence of negligence, self-interest,
or bias, the fact that a majority of dirs approved the transaction does NOT
itself excuse the demand.
I)Model statutes--under
both model statutes, demand should be excused only if it is shown that
irreparable injury to the corp would result;
ii)Effect of rejection of
demand--if the matter complained of does not involve wrongdoing by the
dirs, the board’s good faith refusal to sue bars the action, unless the P-sh
can raise a reasonable doubt that the board exercised reasonable business
judgment in declining to sue. If the suit alleges wrongdoing by a majority of
dirs, the board’s decision not to sue will NOT prevent the derivative suit.
2)Demand on shareholders--in
most states, the p-sh must also make a demand on shs unless excused (e.g., the
alleged wrongdoing is beyond the power of the shs to ratify). Where demand on
shs is required, a good faith refusal to sue by the majority of disinterested
shs will preclude the suit.
c)Qualifications of Plaintiff--a
few states require the P to be a registered sh; most states also allow a
beneficial owner of shares to bring suit. Also, a sh of a parent corp can bring
a derivative suit on a subsidiary’s cause of action. Shs cannot complain of
wrongs committed before they purchased their shares except:
1)where the P acquires shares by
operation of law;
2)in section 16(b) violations;
3)where serious injustice will
result;
4)where the wrong is continuing in
nature.
The P must fairly and adequately represent the
interests of all shs
d)Securities For Expenses--in
a number of states, the P, under certain circumstances, must post a bond to
indemnify the corp against certain of its litigation expenses, including
attorney’s fees, in the event the P loses the suit. a p-sh who loses may also
be liable for the court costs incurred by the parties.
e)Defenses--defenses to
derivative suit include the SOL and equitable defenses (laches, unclean hands,
etc);
f)Settlement And Recovery--any
settlement or judgment belongs to the corp, absent special circumstances.
Settlement or dismissal of the suit is generally subject to court approval
after notice to all shs.
g)Reimbursement to Plaintiff--a
victorious plaintiff may be entitled to reimbursement from the corp for
litigation expenses;
h)Indemnification of Officers And
Directors--indemnification issues arise when officers and dirs are sued
for conduct undertaken in their official capacity. If the officer or dir wins
on the merits, he may be indemnified. Most statutes also authorize the corp to
advance (not pay) expenses in defending against the claim. Statutes vary where
the officer or dir settles or loses; they are most liberal concerning
indemnification in a third-party suit as opposed to a derivative suit.
I)Liability Insurance--in
most states, a corp can obtain liability insurance for its indemnification
costs and for any liability incurred by its officers in serving the
corporation.
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