Business Law Newsletters

Business Review Letters -- Antitrust Clearance from the Department of Justice

Before engaging in a business practice, individuals and companies may seek the view of the U.S. Department of Justice on the legality of the business practice under federal antitrust law. The procedure, known as a Business Review, allows persons to ask the Department of Justice for a statement of its current enforcement intentions. Although the Department of Justice is not authorized to provide advisory opinions to private parties, its business review procedure does allow such parties to seek a statement of present enforcement intentions.

Disclosure of a Corporate Opportunity

Generally, a corporate director breaches the duty of loyalty if she seizes a business opportunity for herself that the corporation was financially capable of undertaking or in which the corporation had a reasonable interest or expectancy. Additionally, the director's loyalty is called into question if she takes personal advantage of a business opportunity that was in line with the corporation's business.

Duty of Care

A corporate director has the duty to act in good faith in pursuit of the company's best interests and to use the care that an ordinary prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The Model Business Corporation Act implies that corporate officers have an even higher duty of care because they are intimately familiar with and knowledgeable about the corporation's activities and have better access to corporate information than directors have. Most jurisdictions recognize that high-ranking corporate officers have a fiduciary relationship with the corporation.

Public Comment and Judicial Review Regarding Government Antitrust Settlements

Under Section 5(a) of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C.S. § 16(a), a final judgment in a successful federal government antitrust enforcement action is prima facie evidence in a subsequent private action for treble damages of the defendant's antitrust violation. However, a consent decree agreed to by a defendant in a federal government action before any testimony is taken is not considered prima facie evidence in a subsequent private action.

The Rule 505 Exemption from Registration Requirements for Small Securities Offerings

Before selling shares of stock to the public, a company normally must file a detailed registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The usual registration statement must contain a prospectus with audited financial statements and other information required for review by Commission staff. However, several exemptions from registration requirements are available for stock offerings that are of lesser value or sold to restricted categories of purchasers.