Articles Tagged with Corporations

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In the early stages of a merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction, owners may be willing to overlook certain differences in favor of focusing on the benefits of the deal. However, as the M&A transaction is completed, the rose-colored glasses may come off and sudden concerns may develop into serious legal disputes between owners. If these disputes are not handled correctly, it can result in long-term consequences, both financially and regarding the relations of the parties. The following are some information regarding common post-closing M&A disputes.

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Deferred Payment of Purchase Price

Many M&A agreements are structured such that part of the purchase price is paid at closing and the rest is paid at some point in future.  This is done with “earn-out” clauses and purchase price adjustment clauses, among others.  An earn-out clause is where the amount of future money paid depends on selling company’s performance after the acquisition, i.e. the money has to be earned after the closing before it is paid out.  These types of clauses are sometimes interpreted differently by buyers and sellers after the closing.  For example, if the selling company’s product is upgraded after the closing, the buyer and seller may view the revenues from those sales differently under an earn-out clause.  As another example, if the buyer and seller have different accounting practices that could certainly affect their interpretation of purchase price adjustment clauses.  Resolving these disputes can involve complex accounting and negotiations by both parties.

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The last thing a business wants is the unexpected surprise of having to pay back money it has received from a customer for goods or services. Although charge-backs and payment disputes may be more common in today’s digital world, a startup or business will likely be caught off guard when it is served with a “preference action” filed by a bankruptcy trustee or bankrupt customer.

The Bankruptcy Code permits the trustee to avoid and recover from creditors for the benefit of all creditors of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate certain pre-petition transfers made within 90 days (and sometimes longer) of the debtor’s bankruptcy filing that would otherwise benefit one creditor at the expense of others. Such transfers are referred to as “preferences.”  Simply put, a preference is where a trustee can recapture certain payments made by the debtor prior to its bankruptcy filing.

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The avoidance and recovery of a preference payment helps to ensure equal distribution among the debtor’s creditors and is intended to discourage aggressive collection tactics by creditors that force the debtor into bankruptcy. An adversary proceeding (a lawsuit filed in the debtor’s bankruptcy) is required to avoid and recover a preference, but a preference action is often preceded by a demand letter from the trustee setting forth the trustee’s claims and demanding immediate repayment of the preference payment.

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The purchase and sale of goods and services at a storefront is rarer these days. Information technologies make online transactions more efficient and convenient. However, those same transactions expose businesses to greater risk and liability when receiving and using customer information. Information technology companies must not only must safeguard their electronic transactions, but also secure sensitive information and proactively combat data breaches. Failure to do so can lead to a huge economic loss for the customers and the company.  Structure Law Group, LLP advises companies engaged in e-commerce on privacy and security issues, how to safeguard against the inadvertent data breaches and counsels them on the necessary steps to take if such an unfortunate event occurs.

Protection of Personal InformationFotolia_125589788_Subscription_Monthly_M-300x200

California law protects the individual’s right to the safety and integrity of his/her personal information. California’s Information Security Act defines personal information as any information that could identify or describe a person. Personal information includes a person’s name, address, social security number, license number, medical information, and the like. If your website collects such information, then you are required by law to take reasonable steps to prevent disclosure of such personal and private information. California law obligates businesses to implement security measures reasonably designed to protect the integrity of the such information. Every business entity, from a sole proprietorship to a multi-national corporation is subject to the Information Security Act.

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Many people will say that your business is only as good as your best employees. In fact, you may have one or more top employees who are absolutely integral in building and maintaining the success of your company. While having talented employees is a benefit to any business owner, it also tends to draw the attention of your competitors.

Identify the most important employees.Fotolia_121891165_Subscription_Monthly_M-300x221

Your company may have some employees who could leave with only minimal interruptions to your business operations. On the other hand, there may be a select few whose absence may substantially harm your bottom line. Identify the top performers in your company through performance reviews and other tools and focus on keeping them satisfied. After all, your competitors will not be actively seeking your “benchwarmer” employees – they will be looking to take your Stephen Curry.

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Businesses are moving away from the traditional storefront and are instead setting up shop online. Both the internet and apps connect individuals across the globe, providing businesses with greater and more innovative ways to reach new customers. For example, on Black Friday 2016, the busiest shopping day of the year for most retailers, online sales rose 21% year-over-year for a total of $3.34 billion. A full one-third of that figure was just from mobile sales.  On Cyber Monday 2016, the largest online shopping day, online sales rose over $3 billion with 26% of sales just from mobile devices.

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As a greater number of businesses devote their focus to the development of an online presence and using e-commerce to conduct their business, businesses must pay more attention to properly establishing and operating their online business.

Starting Your Business

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Going to court is expensive and can take your focus away from running your business for a significant period of time. In order to avoid the added cost and stress of litigation whenever possible, include these steps in your business practices.

Have effective and enforceable contractsFotolia_74847478_Subscription_Yearly_M-300x180

Every business relationship should be memorialized in a written contract. This includes between owners, with clients and customers, with employees, with vendors, and more. Having a contract that is properly drafted to best govern the specific relationship and responsibilities at hand can help avoid disagreements down the road. Each party will know his or her obligations and expectations because it is in writing and the contract can help dictate how disputes will be resolved out of court.

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When a shareholder of a corporation believes that he or she has been wronged, the shareholder generally has two options to file a lawsuit.  The shareholder may either bring a direct action or a derivative action, depending on the facts of the case.  In many instances, it is only appropriate for the shareholder to bring one of these two types of actions against the company.   Below is a general explanation of how a corporation is set up, and a discussion of the differences between the two types of shareholder actions.

General Corporate OrganizationFotolia_82979189_Subscription_Monthly_M-225x300

Let’s say that you decide to open a lemonade stand by yourself as a simple business.  In a simple business, you would own the lemonade stand.  If the lemonade stand did well, you would make more money, and if it did badly, you would not.  In addition to being the owner, you would also run the lemonade stand.  You would make day-to-day decisions about the lemonade stand, like how where to order to the lemons from, what equipment to use, and how much customers should pay for the lemonade.  To sum up, you alone would both own and run everything.

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Corporate officers, partners in a partnership, and members of a limited liability company owe a fiduciary duty to the principal, i.e., the business entity, to act in the best interest of the organization. Failure to act in the principal’s best interest or actively competing against the principal to which a fiduciary duty is owed exposes the fiduciary, the agent of the principal, to civil liability. Care must be taken by the fiduciary not to compete against the organization to which they owe their duty of loyalty. The Silicon Valley Business Attorneys’s at Structure Law Group, LLP are highly experienced in preventing and resolving corporate disputes that may arise from a breach of fiduciary duty.

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The foundational tenet of agency law is the duty of loyalty owed by the agent, or fiduciary, to the principal or business entity. The duty of loyalty obligates the fiduciary to act in the best interests of the principal. The duty of loyalty extends to “all matters connected with the fiduciary relationship.”  Thus, the duty of loyalty prohibits fiduciaries from obtaining a benefit from others as a result of the fiduciary relationship. This prohibition extends to all dealings in which the fiduciary is involved on behalf of the principal. The duty to act with loyalty is not limited to financial matters.

The fiduciary’s duty of loyalty encompasses situations involving parties adverse to the principal. The fiduciary has an absolute duty not to act on behalf of a third party whose interests are adverse to those of the principal.  The fiduciary is duty-bound not to compete, either personally or on behalf of, another entity. The agent’s obligations last for the entire duration, and in some instances depending on contract language, last beyond the termination of the fiduciary’s relationship with the principal. However, agency law does provide for the fiduciary to plan and prepare to leave the principal, even to then compete with the principal.  Notwithstanding, the action taken by the fiduciary must not violate any other duty owed to the principal.

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Public policy in California dictates that businesses should be free to compete against each other in the marketplace. Competition among businesses greatly benefits consumers. At the same time, competition engenders higher quality goods and higher service quality at price points advantageous to the consumer. Toward that end, California’s antitrust law, known as the “Cartwright Act,” prohibits a wide variety of conduct designed to restrain competition in the marketplace.

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The San Jose business lawyers at Structure Law Group, LLP dedicate their practice to helping business owners grow their company while insulating them from harm.  Unfair competition has a negative effect on consumers and businesses. Business entities should avoid structuring agreements which arguably cause unfair competition. Failure to do so could subject those businesses to lengthy and costly litigation and expose them to potential damages.

According to California business, trusts are unlawful and against public policy. California law defines a trust as a “combination of capital, skills, or acts by two or more persons” to:

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Starting a business with a partner can be highly beneficial: collaborations offer many benefits and are particularly popular with startups and firms providing professional services. When you start a business with another person or people, the last thing you expect is to end up in a disagreement about business ownership. Unfortunately, these kinds of disputes arise on a regular basis and can have a significant impact on the success of your business as well as your personal bottom line.

Fotolia_71517132_Subscription_Monthly_M-300x200Business disputes can arise in a variety of contexts – here are some of the most common situations:

  • A party may attempt to assert authority which he or she does not have
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