Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara
SYLLABUS
Corporations (Spring 2017)
PROFESSOR:
Steven McNamara
OFFICE:
Office # 363
CONTACT:
352-273-0998
[email protected]
CLASSROOM:
Room 285B
CLASS TIME:
Tuesday:
Thursday:
OFFICE HOURS:
Tuesday:
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Wednesday: 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
FINAL EXAM:
Monday, May 8, 8:30 AM
3:30 PM to 4:45 PM
3:30 PM to 4:45 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to corporate law. We will focus on core corporate law topics
including the function of the board of directors, fiduciary duties, the rights of
shareholders, and the duties of controlling shareholders. We will also take some time to
ask why corporations exist in our economic system, and the nature and extent of their
obligations both to shareholders and other stakeholders.
Many students find Corporations a challenging course, with legal concepts that require
background knowledge in business, economics, finance, and accounting. These concepts
will be discussed in class. Your attendance and preparation is essential therefore to your
success in this course. You are expected to attend class regularly.
TEXTBOOK
Jeffrey Bauman & Russell Stevenson, Corporations: Law and Policy, West, 8th ed. 2013.
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara
COURSE GRADING
Your grade will be based on a final exam only. The final exam will be an in-class exam.
Exam grades are done on a blind basis. All grades are final. There will be no regrading or
revisions from me, except to correct any mathematical or clerical errors in computing the
final score.
FINAL EXAM FORMAT
The final exam will be open casebook. There are no restrictions on what you can write
into the book. You will also be allowed to bring in an outline or notes with the following
restrictions: 10 pages on 8x11 sheets of paper, front and back permitted, handwritten or
typed notes permitted, no margin or font restrictions. If a problem on the exam requires
statutes, they will be provided in the exam.
The final exam may have essay, short answer, and multiple choice questions. Short
answer and multiple choice questions are fairly self-explanatory. Essay questions will be
an issue-spotting, analysis, or problem-solving format typically seen in most law school
exams. The issues and topics for exam questions will come from the course readings and
class discussions. The exam will fairly reflect the work that is done in the course. This
means that the best way to prepare for the exam is to do the class readings and to attend
class.
ACRONYM KEY
The following are the acronyms for the various materials in the syllabus:
Statute Guide
 MBCA
 DGCL
Model Business Corporation Act
Delaware General Corporation Law
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara
ASSIGNMENTS
Class
#
1
Date
Tues.
Jan. 10
Topics, Issues, and Cases

Introduction to course
CHAPTER 1
 Business and Risk
1-15
17-44
2
Thurs.
Jan. 12
CHAPTER 2
 Why do firms exist?
 Some basic terms and concepts
 Fiduciary duties
Beyer v. Beran
 Equitable limitations on corporate actions
Schnell v. Chris-Craft Industries, Inc.
3
Tues.
Jan. 17



4
Thurs.
Jan. 19
Text pages and
statutes
Read Google’s Investor Relations Website
Read Google’s Certificate of Incorporation
(Alphabet Inc.)
Read Google’s Bylaws (Alphabet Inc.)
CHAPTER 5
 Framing the issues
Dodge v. Ford Motor Co.
 The role of the lawyer
 Corporate charity
Theodora Holding Corp. v. Henderson
Kahn v. Sullivan
Posted on Canvas
MBCA §§ 2.02, 2.03, 2.05,
2.06
99-109
117-144
5
Tues.
Jan. 24
CHAPTER 6
 Choice of Organizational Form—Default rules
 The LLC
Elf Atochem North America, Inc. v. Jaffari
 Planning Considerations
145-161
6
Thurs.
Jan. 26
CHAPTER 9
 Corporate Securities
 Corporate capital structure
Equity—Linked Investors, L.P. v. Adams
 Legal capital
Klang v. Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc.
 Corporate dividend policy
Dodge v. Ford Motor Co.
233-275
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara
7
Tues.
Jan. 31
CHAPTER 11
 Introduction to veil piercing
 Tort creditors
Walkovszky v. Carlton
Radaszewski v. Telecom Corp.
295-318
8
Thurs.
Feb. 2
CHAPTER 11
 Contract creditors
Kinney Shoe Corp. v. Polan
 Parent-subsidiary corporations
Gardemal v. Westin Hotel Co.
Otr Associates v. IBC Services, Inc.
 Veil-piercing in LLCs
 Alternatives to limited liability
325-340
9
Tues.
Feb. 7
CHAPTER 13
 Realignments of shareholder control
 Restrictions on Board Discretion
Triggs v. Triggs
Smith v. Atlantic Properties, Inc.
379-414
10
Thurs.
Feb. 9
CHAPTER 14
 Dissension and oppression in the close
corporation
 Judicial protection of minority owners
Wilkes v. Springside Nursing Home, Inc.
Nixon v. Blackwell
 Statutory Remedies for Oppression
Matter of Kemp v. Beatley, Inc.
Bonavita v. Corbo
427-469
11
Tues.
Feb. 14
CHAPTER 17
 Shareholder inspection of books and records
Saito v. McKesson HBOC, Inc.
Seinfeld v. Verizon Communications, Inc.
Polygon Global Opportunities Master Fund v. West
Corporation
555-573
MBCA §§ 16.01, 16.02,
16.03
DGCL § 220
12
Thurs.
Feb. 16
CHAPTER 19
 Models of corporate governance
 Business scandals and corporate governance
597-623
13
Tues.
Feb. 21
CHAPTER 20
 The role of a corporate director
 Governance in the modern board
625-646
Review Google’s board of directors (for
Alphabet Inc.) and the committees and each
committee’s charter
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara

Assessing changes in the modern board
14
Thurs.
Feb. 23
CHAPTER 21
 Shareholder voting dynamics
 Shareholder proposals
Auer v. Dressel
Lovenheim v. Iroquois Brands, Ltd.
647-668
15
Tues.
Feb. 28
CHAPTER 21
668-698

16
Thurs.
Mar. 2
Shareholder nomination of directors and bylaw
amendments
American Federation v. A.I.G., Inc.
CA, Inc. v. AFSCME Employees Pension Plan
CHAPTER 22
 Direct and derivative actions
Tooley v. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc.
 Role of counsel
 Who qualifies as a plaintiff?
In re Fuqua Industries Shareholder Litigation
MBCA §§ 2.06, 10.01,
10.03, 10.04, 10.20, 10.21,
10.22
699-718
MBCA §§ 7.41
Through 4.46
17
Tues.
Mar. 14
CHAPTER 22
 The demand requirement
Aronson v. Lewis
Rales v. Blasband
Einhorn v. Culea
 Termination when demand is excused
718-743
18
Thurs.
Mar. 16
CHAPTER 22
 The independence of directors
Orman v. Cullman
In re InfoUSA, Inc. Shareholders Litigation
In re Ebay, Inc. Sharerholders Litigation
 Settlement and attorneys’ fees
743-780
19
Tues.
Mar. 21
CHAPTER 23
 Standards of care
 The business judgment rule
Shlensky v. Wrigley
Francis v. United Jersey Bank
781-799
20
Thurs.
Mar. 23
CHAPTER 23
 The duty of oversight
In re Caremark Int’l Derivative Litigation
In re Citigroup Inc. Derivative Litigation
799-828
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara
21
Tues.
Mar. 28
CHAPTER 23
 The duty to become informed
Smith v. Van Gorkom
 Remedies
828-857
22
Thurs.
Mar. 30
CHAPTER 23
 Avoidance of liability
857-872
CHAPTER 24
 Director self-dealing
873-878
MBCA §§ 2.02(b)(4),
8.51, 8.52, 8.53, 8.56, 8.57
23
24
Tues.
Apr. 4
Thurs.
Apr. 6
CHAPTER 24
 Director self-dealing
Remillard Brick Co. v. Remillard Dandini Co.
Benihana of Tokyo, Inc. v. Benihana, Inc.
Lewis v. Vogelstein
Harbor Finance Partners v. Huizenga
Gantler v. Stephens
CHAPTER 24
 Evolution of “good faith”
In re Walt Disney Co. Derivative Litigation
Stone v. Ritter
ATR-Kim Eng Financial Corp. v. Araneta
McPadden v. Sidhu
 Corporate opportunity doctrine
Farber v. Servan Land Company, Inc.
Burg v. Horn
878-909
DGCL § 144
909-950
MBCA § 8.70
25
Tues.
Apr. 11
CHAPTER 26
 Transactions within corporate groups
Sinclar Oil v. Levien
 Cash-out transactions
Weinberger v. OUP, Inc.
993-1026
26
Thurs.
Apr. 13
CHAPTER 26
 Cash-out transactions
Kahn v. Lynch Communication Sys., Inc. (Lynch I)
Kahn v. Lynch Communication Sys., Inc. (Lynch II)
In re MFW Shareholders Litigation
1026-1054
27
Tues.
Apr. 18
CHAPTER 26
 Cash-out transactions
In re Pure Resources, Inc. Shareholders Litigation
1054-1082
28
Thurs.
Apr. 20
OVERFLOW/REVIEW SESSION
Corporations
Spring 2017
McNamara