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As a business and real estate attorney in Santa Clara County, I have often heard our Tax Assessor, Larry Stone, talk about how hard his office is working to reappraise properties to make sure the property tax assessment roll is correct. However, I just spoke with a California homeowner who is close to losing her home and is being forced to list it for sale. As we spoke, I looked up her address online and found that her property taxes were based on a value far in excess of the amount her real estate agent has told her she should be able to sell for. This is costing her thousands of dollars per year in extra property taxes.

This conversation came at a time that my own property tax assessments from Santa Clara County have just arrived in the mail, reminding me that I need to reconsider the comparable sales in my area and decide whether it is time to contact the Assessor’s Office with the information. When you get that yellow notice in the mail, do not ignore it. Take a close look at the information on the card and see if it is in line with what you think your property is worth. If it is not, you should call the Assessor’s Office, provide them with any supporting documentation, and see if you can get the staff to agree with you. If they do not, in Santa Clara County you have until September 17, 2012 to file an appeal. Under Proposition 13, your base-year value (the value when you bought your property) can be increased by no more than 2% per year. However, if the market value has fallen below the adjusted base-year value as of a January 1st lien date, you can get a Proposition 8 assessment which is the lesser of the Prop. 13 adjusted base-year value or the market value. Keep in mind that once you get a Prop. 8 assessment, you are no longer limited to a 2% increase per year. If the value jumps up, your assessment can recover up to the Prop. 13 level at any time. For example, if you buy a home for fair market value of $1 million and the value goes up $50,000 immediately after you buy it, the assessment is limited to a 2% increase over the base-year value, or $1,020,000 (instead of $1,050,000). However, if the value of your property falls to $900,000 the following year, you can get a Prop. 8 assessment of $900,000. The following year, your assessment is not limited to $900,000 plus 2%, but can recover all the way up to the base-year plus 2% per year for each year since the purchase year.

During the appeal process, you must pay the assessed property taxes. Then, if you get the value reduced, you must actually call and ask for your refund check.

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As a Silicon Valley corporate attorney who often represents the selling company in mergers and acquisitions, I know that a huge amount of effort goes into signing an acquisition agreement. As I have discussed in past blogs, issues from earnouts to preparing exceptions schedules will have turned into countless hours of negotiations, documentation, and late night telephone calls for both the seller and the acquiring company and their corporate lawyers. In the end, the agreement is signed and everyone gets some well-needed sleep, only to wake up to the final sprint to closing.

In this blog, I will discuss what happens when a deal does not close simultaneously with the signing of the acquisition agreement. Similar to a contract for buying a house, many merger and acquisition deals require the buyer and seller to sign an agreement, and then perform additional items before the final closing.

At the same time as the deal team pours over the necessary closing tasks, there is still a business to run. Even though the seller remains in control of the business, the buyer wants to make sure it eventually acquires a company that is in good working order. For this reason, commitments are designed to guide business operations pending the closing.

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In the past couple of years, corporations and limited liability companies that were formed or registered in California have had to deal with long delays from the Secretary of State in getting their documents processed. Whether the document that is being filed is a Statement of Information, Certificate of Dissolution or Cancellation, or Articles of Incorporation or Organization, the Secretary of State is taking weeks or even months to process a filing. As a business lawyer in San Jose, I have seen a multitude of problems resulting from such delays.

Statements of Information are experiencing the greatest delays, as the Secretary of State is taking several months to process a filing. This has actually created problems for some businesses that pay the filing fee with a check that contains an expiration or “void-by” date. If the check expires before the Secretary of State is able to process the Statement of Information, the Secretary of State will either reject the Statement or treat the payment as a dishonored payment.

Since many of my San Jose clients are newly formed LLCs, I frequently see these delays cause another type of problem. Very often, my client’s bank will require a copy of the LLC’s filed Statement of Information before opening a bank account or approving a loan. Because of the significant amount of time that it is taking for the State to process Statements, I often have to work with my client to take advantage of a relationship with the bank and ask the bank to accept a copy of the Statement that the LLC has submitted for filing.

I can avoid this situation in several ways if I am aware of the need to provide a filed copy of a Statement of Information by a certain date.

For a corporation, we can file the Statement of Information online with the Secretary of State and then request a copy of the record (this option is currently not available to LLCs). This avoids the usual queue. In addition, most regional state offices offer the opportunity for a corporation or LLC to pay an expedited service fee for filing a Statement of Information in person at the Secretary of State’s Sacramento office. We can email the document to our agent in Sacramento who actually walks it into the Secretary of State and files it on an expedited basis over the counter. The benefit to using the expedited service is that we can receive a filing confirmation or response within a guaranteed time frame (usually 24 hours).

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Every corporation, limited liability company and limited partnership, that either forms in California or registers to do business in California must pay an annual minimum franchise tax of $800. However, I just read an article in Spidell’s California Taxletter that really annoyed me (Volume 34.7, July 1, 2012, pages 75-76). The article, entitled “Midyear switch from S to C corporation means an extra $800” says that when a corporation files two short year returns for one calendar year, each return is subject to the $800 minimum tax even though the corporation is the same entity for civil law purposes. Because it is changing its tax status, it is two different entities for tax purposes and therefore must pay the minimum tax twice in one year. As a corporate and business attorney, I am sensitive to this issue since many of my clients are small businesses or partnerships in San Jose, Santa Clara and other parts of Silicon Valley, and every dollar counts when you are running a small business.

This could be an issue in many midyear circumstances, including:
• When an S corporation loses its S election
• When an LLC switches from single member to multiple member
• When an LLC switches from multiple member to single member
• When a limited partnership changes into a limited liability company
• When 50% of the ownership of a limited partnership or limited liability company changes hands
• When an LLC elects to be taxed as a corporation, or revokes such an election
• If an entity changes accounting periods resulting in two short-period returns

Although this may look reasonable on the surface of one tax return independently, when you look at both returns together this looks like double-dipping to me. If one entity has to file two tax returns for one calendar year, I think the entity should get credit in the second tax return for any minimum tax already paid for that entity for that year. However, with California’s ongoing budget crisis, I know this argument will fall on deaf ears. Therefore, I applaud Spidell’s California Taxletter for informing tax practitioners of this tax trap. I’m hoping California business owners, as well as out of state owners with businesses registered in California, will read this blog and avoid inadvertently paying double minimum taxes. As a California business lawyer, I will do what I can to structure deals for my clients to avoid this double tax.

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San Jose and Santa Clara are such vibrant places to do business that many foreign companies want to relocate to Silicon Valley. As a corporate lawyer working with start-up companies, I have helped a number of ventures enter the U.S. market, and have worked with companies from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark Finland, India, and Israel, among others.

In past blogs, I have discussed some of the threshold considerations faced by companies leaving their home countries and relocating in the U.S. I have also discussed some of the entity forms that companies can adopt when deciding to access the U.S. market merely to sell their products or services.

Companies that decide that they want to access the private equity markets and managerial and technical talent resident in Silicon Valley often relocate their headquarters here in the U.S. For these companies, a “flip-up” will allow them to grow their company in the U.S. by being in a position to access local capital and hire a sophisticated workforce.

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As a business lawyer representing many closely held corporations, I often see shareholders elect board members without much thought, either because they are family members or employees of the business. The board of directors serves a very important management role for a corporation and the decision of who you put on the board should not be taken lightly. If an elected board member is no longer a good fit for your company, do not wait too long to replace him/her or you could be missing an opportunity to find a board member who will add value to your company.

Electing a Director

In most corporations, the bylaws provide that directors will be elected at each annual shareholders’ meeting and will hold office until the next annual shareholder meeting and until their successors are elected and qualified, unless they are removed from the board before that time. Each year when it is time to renew your board, make sure you stop to consider whether the same directors should continue serving the company, or if it is time for some new blood. It is much easier to not re-elect a director, than it is to remove one during his/her term.

Removing a Director

Directors can be removed for cause, which means the director being removed did something wrong. The board can declare a director’s seat to be vacant if that director is convicted of a felony or declared incompetent. A director can also be removed for cause by a court order, but the court will require at least 10% of the outstanding shares to petition for removal, and a showing of fraudulent or dishonest acts or gross abuse of authority by the director to be removed.

Shareholders may remove directors without cause if the removal is approved by a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote for the election of directors. However, no individual director can be removed over an objection by one or more shareholders who, collectively, have enough votes to elect that director under cumulative voting.

Filling a Vacancy on the Board

Generally, the shareholders are supposed to elect the board of directors. However, depending on how the seat was vacated, either the board itself, or the shareholders, can fill a vacant board seat. If a director dies, is incapacitated, or resigns, the remaining directors can usually appoint a replacement director (unless the corporate documents say otherwise). If a director is removed, the vacancy must be filled by the shareholders unless the corporate documents authorize the board to fill such a vacancy. In the event that a majority of the directors have been appointed by the board, there is a safeguard to make sure the shareholders have the ultimate authority. Holders of 5% or more of the outstanding shares may call a special meeting of the shareholders and elect an entirely new board.

Whether or not your entire board is in place, in order to maintain your corporate liability shield, the corporation must follow the statutory rules regarding regular and special board meetings for the board to make decisions on behalf of the company. The rules for board meetings will be covered in another blog.

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In my last blog concerning market entry into Silicon Valley by foreign companies, I discussed some of the basic issues and tasks surrounding the effort. As an attorney practicing corporate law and representing technology startup companies, I am often asked to assist in designing and implementing the legal structures that enable a foreign-owned company to access the US market.

There are a number of factors that guide a company’s decision to enter the US market. First, what is it trying to sell? Second, does the company hope to generate its return on investment through a cash-flow from sales, or by building value and ultimately selling the company or taking it public? Third, does it need funding from US private investors? Let’s look at how each of these factors guide entity form.

The first factor focuses on the best method for product distribution. If the company is trying to sell simple, commodity type products using an established distribution network, it may be able to get by with no entity at all. In other words, it can sell its products directly into the US through a distributor or independent sales representative. Even if the product is complex, but does not require a sophisticated domestic marketing, sales, or support organization, an independent sales representative could be used.

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Silicon Valley is a magnet for foreign technology companies seeking to expand their offerings into the US market. As a San Jose-based attorney specializing in corporate law, I have seen an uptick in US-based management talent being solicited by foreign companies to help the companies start up their US operations. When faced with the question of what to do, many of the same issues arise in structuring the US market entry of foreign-owned companies.

The first issue is why the company is coming to the United States in the first place. If the company merely wants to sell widgets, it may be able to make do with a simple contractual relationship with a sales professional or distributor. If, on the other hand, the company wants to access US management talent and venture investors, it might look at reorganizing, or flipping-up, its legal headquarters into the US.

The second issue involves taxes. If the company is a mature company and expects to generate significant revenue from its US operations, there are a number of tax planning opportunities that may enable the company to minimize its international tax burden. Understanding the company’s existing structure and its goals, and designing an appropriate corporate and technology ownership and use structure is a necessary task. It can, however, be an expensive undertaking depending on the nature of the company and its products and services.

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As a corporate lawyer representing small businesses here in San Jose and throughout Silicon Valley, I often need to walk my clients through the process of forming a corporation, whether in California, Delaware, or another state, but also the ongoing requirements of maintaining their corporation. It is important to remember that California law provides limited liability to shareholders, so long as the corporation is treated appropriately. When corporate formalities are not followed, creditors and claimants can “pierce the corporate veil” to allow for a judgment against shareholders for a liability that should only have been an obligation of the corporation. One of the most important corporate formalities is the shareholder meeting.

Every California corporation is required to have an annual meeting of the shareholders, and can have additional ‘special’ meetings at any other time when properly called. In order to hold a proper meeting, the meeting must be properly called, noticed, and held. This is a general roadmap on how to do that, but any corporation is subject to the specifics of its corporate documents and should only rely on legal counsel familiar with its documents for requirements specific to its company.

When should the annual shareholder meeting be held?

The annual meeting should be held on a date and time that is stated in the bylaws. Recently I began representing a client that controlled multiple different corporations formed by his previous corporate attorney. Each of the corporations had a different annual meeting date, making it much more difficult for the client to remember to hold his meetings on time. We held a special meeting of the shareholders to amend the bylaws of each corporation to have the meetings on the same date, and then held the meetings back to back in his office. In this case, the shareholders and the board of directors were essentially the same people, so we actually noticed and held a joint annual meeting.

What action is required at the annual shareholder meeting?

The only action required to be taken by the shareholders at an annual meeting is the election of the board of directors. Any other proper business may also be acted upon, so long as it was included in the meeting notice.

Required Notice – What should the notice say?

All shareholders who are entitled to vote are entitled to written notice of the annual meeting (and any special meeting). The bylaws cannot override this requirement. However, most of the time, my small business clients with closely held corporations hold their meetings without formal notice, and we just have the shareholders sign a written waiver of the notice requirement at the meeting. Of course, you should not depend on this if there is any hint of a potential disagreement between the shareholders. Otherwise, a disagreeable shareholder could refuse to waive the notice requirement, and delay or block the shareholders from taking any action at the meeting.

The notice to shareholders must include the date, time and place of the meeting, and whether shareholders can attend by telephone or electronic meeting. For annual meetings, or any other meetings where directors will be elected, the notice must also state the names of the persons nominated for the election. Any other matters the board intends to present to the shareholders for any action at an annual meeting must also be stated in the notice. Although at an annual meeting the shareholders may still be able to act on a matter that was not included in the notice, certain matters may require the unanimous vote of the shareholders, including those not attending the meeting, if the shareholders were not given notice of them in advance.

At a special meeting, the shareholders are not allowed to act on business not included in the notice unless all shareholders provide written waiver of notice for that matter. For this reason, if the corporation has any adverse interests among its shareholder, I recommend that a very specific agenda be provided with the notice of any special meeting. The safest method is to provide the actual language of proposals the board will be presenting to the shareholders at the meeting.

In addition to providing notice before the meeting, in California the corporation must provide an annual financial report to the shareholders at least 15 days before the annual meeting, and no later than 120 days after the end of the corporation’s fiscal year. However, if the corporation has less than 100 shareholders, this requirement can be waived in the bylaws.

Required Notice – How do you give notice?

You should always check to see what the corporation’s bylaws say about notice, but for most corporations, notice can be given by first class mail, in person, or by electronic delivery such as facsimile or e-mail. Notice should go to the address or contact information provided by the shareholder to the corporation. If you do not have an address, or if the electronic notice gets rejected twice, you can mail the notice to the shareholder care of the corporation at its principal executive office, or you can publish it in a local newspaper. In other words, if you cannot find a shareholder you do not have a legal requirement to spend your time looking for them.

The corporation is considered to have provided notice as of the date it mails the notice, or delivers it personally, by fax or electronically. I recommend that the secretary of the corporation sign an affidavit of mailing or electronic transmission for the corporate minute book. I may be able to provide notice and sign the affidavit as the transfer agent for corporations that are my clients.

Required Notice – When should it go out?

Written notice of a shareholder meeting must be given no less than 10 days and no more than 60 days before the scheduled meeting. Corporations will often provide at least 15 days notice so that the annual financial report can be sent to the shareholders at the same time.

Improper Notice

As I mentioned earlier, shareholders can waive the required meeting notice if they did not get notice, or they can waive any problem with the notice they received. If a shareholder does not attend a meeting, they can waive notice in writing either before or after the meeting. If a shareholder shows up at a meeting and does not actually object to the improper notice at the beginning of the meeting, the shareholder is deemed to have waived the notice requirement. However, a shareholder can still object at any time during the meeting if a matter is raised that was not included in the meeting notice. Be very careful about the content of the waiver. Although usually the waiver does not have to include information about what was supposed to be considered at the meeting, certain matters do require a more specific waiver, otherwise unanimous vote of the shareholders may be required on those matters.

Once a company has set a date for its shareholder meeting and either provided proper notice or had the notice requirement waived, the company must now determine who has the right to vote at that meeting, and what votes are required.

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As a business litigation attorney in San Jose, I am always concerned when clients are confronted with murky or unclear regulations. For many years, employers have been awaiting clarity on California’s confusing meal and rest break laws. There has been uncertainty as to whether employers must force their non-exempt employees to take their meal breaks, or whether the employer meets its obligations by simply providing employees the opportunity to take their breaks. The California Supreme Court very recently provided much needed clarification on this important employment law issue in the case of Brinker Restaurant Corporation v. Superior Court of San Diego County.

The Court also addressed the proper method to calculate the timing of both meal and rest breaks, putting an end to the guessing game of how many breaks must be provided, and when the breaks must be given.

Employers Do Not Need To Police Employees During Meal Breaks

The Court decided that employers, while under a legal duty to provide meal breaks at appropriate intervals, are not obligated to ensure that employees do no work while on their breaks. The employer’s obligation is simply to relieve its employees of their work duties, relinquish control over the employee’s activities, and permit the employee a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break. Of course, the employer must not impede or discourage the employee from taking the provided break.

Also of great importance was that the Court stated quite clearly that employers are not required to police meal breaks to ensure that no work is performed during the break. In fact, employees are free to work during their meal break, if they decide to do so.

Timing of Meal Breaks

The Court also provided clear guidance on the timing of meal breaks. The first meal break must be provided no later than the end of an employee’s fifth hour of work. A second meal period must be provided no later than an employee’s 10th hour of work. Meal periods can be scheduled prior to the end of the fifth hour of work, including in the first hour of work, and can occur before the first rest break.

Timing of Rest Breaks

The case also clarified when employees are entitled to rest breaks. Employees must be given one 10-minute rest break for shifts from three and one-half to six hours in length, two 10-minute rest breaks for shifts of more than six and up to 10 hours in length, and three 10-minute rest breaks for shifts more than 10 hours and up to 14 hours in length. Employees who work less than three and one-half hours are not entitled to a rest break. The Court also stated that there is no requirement for an employer to give a rest break before a meal break.

Overall, the business community and employer-side employment attorneys view the Brinker case as a common sense legal opinion that offers clear guidelines for handling employee meal and rest breaks. Furthermore, the case may have the effect of curtailing potential class-action lawsuits against California businesses that, prior to the Court’s ruling, could have been accused of meal and rest break violations.

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