| Directors' Liability - Torts and Wrongful Acts |
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| TORTS AND WRONGFUL ACTS More... |
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| Consumer Law |
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| (Proper Disposal of Consumer Information) More... |
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| Reporting Requirements for Public Company Insiders |
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| Officers, directors, and beneficial owners of more than 10 percent of the shares of a public company must report their ownership of shares of the company to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Company officers and directors are considered corporate insiders. Beneficial holders of more than 10% of a class of a company's equity securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act also are considered corporate insiders. Such insiders are required to report their holdings to the Commission when they first acquire company stock and when changes in their ownership occur. More... |
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| Corporate Criminal Liability |
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| Corporations were not initially held criminally responsible for corporate activities. A corporation was considered to be a legally fictitious entity, incapable of forming the mens rea necessary to commit a criminal act. The Supreme Court ultimately rejected this notion in 1909 in New York Central & Hudson River Railroad v. U.S. A railroad company employee paid rebates to shippers in violation of federal law. The court upheld the corporation's criminal conviction, finding no reason that corporations could not be held "responsible for and charged with the knowledge and purposes of their agents, acting within the authority conferred upon them." The Supreme Court concluded that criminal liability could be imputed to the corporation based on the benefit it received as a result of the criminal acts of its agents. The case and its progeny have essentially imported the doctrine of respondeat superior from tort law into the corporate criminal realm. A corporation may be convicted for its agent's unlawful acts when the agent acted within the scope of his or her actual or apparent authority. Another theory of corporate criminal liability is the "collective knowledge doctrine." As knowledge of criminal activity is often the scienter element of a particular crime, the requisite knowledge can be imputed to the corporation based on the collective knowledge of the directors and officers. More... |
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| Arbitration of Securities Disputes |
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| Although persons may not be required to arbitrate rather than litigate their claims, they may by contract agree to arbitrate any claims that arise under the contract. More... |
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