Final Flashcards
Master
principal who controls the conduct of the agent
Servant
Person who is subject to the control of another as to the means used to achieve a particular result
Independent Contractor
Person is subject to the control of another as to his results only
-Master typically isn’t liable for torts committed by independent contractors
Actual Authority
- the agent has power to deal with other as a representative of the principal
- may be express, implied, incidental, or by title
Express Authority
oral or written
Implied Authority
Inferred from the principal’s prior acts
Incidental Authority
Authority to do incidental acts that are related to a transaction that is authorized
Apparent Authority
manifestation by principal to the 3rd party that another person is authorized to act as an agent for the principal
-can be established through agent’s title
Hamilton Hauling v. GAF Corp
- agent for GAF enters into 10 year contract for woodchips on behalf of principal
- Hamilton should have known agent had no apparent authority - no prior act where agent made big deals like this; agent said he had authority, but that doesn’t count
Ratification
Principal held responsible if the agent purports to act on the principal’s behalf AND:
Express ratification or implied ratification
Express Ratification
principal affirmatively treats the agent’s act as authorized
Implied Ratification
Principal engages in conduct justifiable only if the principal is treating the agent’s act as authorized (usually occurs when principal has knowledge of the unauthorized transaction on his behalf, but accepts the benefits of it)
3rd Party liable to principal if:
- agent has actual, apparent, or inherent authority
- principal is disclosed or partially disclosed
3rd party liability to undisclosed principal:
if agent had actual or inherent authority, the principal is not excluded from the terms of the contracts, and the existence of the principal is not fraudulently concealed
Principal duties to agent
- no fiduciary duty
- act in good faith
- indemnify agent for losses reasonably incurred in the scope of the relationship
- can revoke relationship unless contract says otherwise
Agent Duties to Principal
- Fiduciary
- duty or loyalty & duty of care
Partnership
Default Rule: Every partner acts as an agent of the partnership
- partners have apparent authority to things in ordinary course of business
- actual authority can be establishe dby underlying agreement among partners
Rights of Partners
- equal rights
- default voting structure is per capita
- need consent of all partners to admit a new partner
- differences as to ordinary matters can be decided by majority vote
National Biscuit v. Stroud
- Stroud contracted Ntl Bis Co to buy bread.
- One partners said they wanted to go somewhere else for bread, but other partner kept buying bread
- Partner buying bread had actual authority to buy bread
- Doesn’t take a majority vote to remove partner’s actual authority, because this wasn’t a new activity, it was an ordinary activity in the course of business
National Biscuit Co and Summers v Dooley Similarities and differences
- both actual authority cases
- National Biscuit Co was about an activity in the ordinary course of business and Dooley was about a new activity which required majority partnership agreement
Limited Partnership
- don’t have agency authority by statute
- not by statute agents of the partnership
Limited Liability Company
- every member is an agent if member-managed
- could elect to be member-managed (owner managed) or manager-managed in articles of organization
- default rule: managers don’t have to be members as a matter of statute
- members have apparent authority for activities in the ordinary course of business
Manager-Managed
only people given manager status are the ones acting as agents
Corporations
- Have to a president and secretary, but can be the same person
- controlled and managed by board of directors
- all officers and agents have authority in duties of management, but no apparent other for extraordinary contracts
Lee v. Jenkins Bros
- President of Jenkin’s gives employee oral agreement that he will get a lifetime pension and then pres died & there were no witnesses to the promise.
- This wasn’t an extraordinary contract so president had apparent authority, but there wasn’t enough evidence to establish the existence of the agreement so Lee lost.
To form a business org, all business types have to register with the secretary of stated EXCEPT:
general partnerships and sol partnerships
Renewal Obligations:
- LLP: annual renewal
- Corporation: Annual registration report
- LLLP: annual renewal which creates liability shield
No renewal required for:
- LLCs (in MO)
- LPs
Necessary Filings
- LP - certificate of limited partnership
- LLP - required to file a document
- LLC - articles of organization
- Corporation - Articles of Incorporation; no filing of operating agreement required, though
No Initial Filing with Secretary of State Required for:
General Partnerships
Hillme v. Chastain
- general partnership
- Chastain tried to cut Hillme out of partnership - claiming there’s no partnership (nothing in writing)
- Court said Hillme is a partner
- Hillme is a partner because there was a joint checking account for the business, they shared a risk of loss when they each signed for the loan, and Each participated in management decisions
- didn’t file a partnership tax return, but they acted as though they were partners
H20 v. Brazos
- no general partnership here
- calling each other partners is not determinative
- No cash investment, risk of loss, or decision making authority on Brazos’s side.
Partnership by Estoppel
You’re estopped from claiming you’re not a partner if you misrepresent to people that you are (even if you’re not)
-liable to third parties
Smith v. Kelley
- Smith claims he was a 20% partner because he receives a portion of the business’s net profits
- Court said no - Smith is not a partner because he didn’t contribute to partnership’s assets or take part in management, but he was a partner by estoppel; liable to the third parties where he represented himself as a partner
Promoter
-a person who solicits people to invest money into a corp when it is still being formed
Promoter Liability
default rule: If a promoter signs a contract on behalf of the yet-to-be-formed corporation, if that corp fold, he is personally liable for fulfilling the contract
Liability of a Limited Liability Company
- everyone is liable only for their own bad acts
- company assets aren’t shielded, but personal assets are protected
It is possible for a Missouri manager-managed limited liability company to
have one or more “managers” that are not human beings.
True
In terms of apparent authority by statute, the situation of a member in a manager-
managed Missouri limited liability company is essentially the same as that of a
partner in a Missouri limited liability partnership.
FALSE
If Buono is worried that Askew might start trying to bind the Organization to contracts
with third parties without sufficient prior analysis and discussion with Buono, solely from
an authority perspective which of the following organizational structures is the BEST in terms of addressing Buono’s concern in that regard?
A Missouri manager-managed limited liability company with Buono as the
sole manager and Askew as a member who is not a manager.
Defective Incorporation (MO)
- If you act as a corporation without filing articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State and KNEW there was no corporation, you are jointly/severally liable for all debt and liabilities
- lack of knowledge as to defective incorporation could be a defense
Corporation becomes incorporated when:
articles of incorporation are filed by the secretary of state; mailing it in is not enough!
Liability of General Partnership Partners
- partners are jointly, severally, and personally liable for everything chargeable to partnership
- partnership is bound by partner’s wrongful act(s)
- Any partner acting in ordinary course of business that causes loss to a third party, entire partnership is liable
Roach v. Mead
-third person, Mead’s client, Roach, reasonably believed that the private business was within the ordinary course of the partnership so entire partnership was liable
Liability for LLPs
- no partner is liable for debts of partnership OR to each other in tort or contracts disputes as long as the LLP is registered!
- partners are only liable for their own bad acts
- Partners are safe against conduct of other partners
- incoming partners are liable for partnership obligations there were there before he got there, though
Liability for LPs
- Limited Partners are Silent/Passive Partners - they let general partners run the show
- General Partners of limited partnerships have the same liabilities as a partner in a general partnership
- Limited Partners are not personally liable for obligations of LP
Liability of Limited Liability Limited Partners
- Limited partners are not personally liable for obligations of partnership
- must have LLLP in name or it is not a valid LLLP
Liability of Limited Liability Companies
- both members and managers are protected from personal liability as long as acts are done after filing as LLC
- can be held liable for one’s own wrongful acts
Pepsi v. Handy
- Pepsi bought a parcel of land from an LLC
- Pepsi realized the parcel had a wetlands issue that wasn’t disclosed prior to the purchase and sues the LLC
- LLC doesn’t protect partners here, because the bad acts happened prior to the LLC being formed!
Liability of Shareholders in General Business Corporations
- shareholders have no obligation to the corporation or its creditors other than to pay the corporation the full consideration for the shares
- shareholders are liable for their own bad acts, however
Piercing the Corporate Veil
-treats the rights or duties of a corporation as the rights or liabilities of its shareholders.
6 Factors from Batz which could allow a court to pierce the corporate veil
- fraudulent representation by corporation directors
- Undercapitalization
- Failure to observe corporate formalities
- Absence of corporate records
- payment by the corporation of individual obligations
- Use of corp to promote fraud, injustice, or illegalities
MO Collett 3 part test to pierce the corporate veil in parent/subsidiary corp setting
- parent company has complete control
- some sort of injustice
- This injustice must be the proximate cause of the injury
Reverse Piercing
shareholder wants to claim assets in corporation are still personal assets
Equitable Subordination
if shareholder has “inside advantage”, creditors are paid first
Interlocking Management
Same person is on the board for both companies
Bartle v. Home-Owners
- Court refused to pierce the corporate veil here because no fraud or unfairness by shareholders
- Dissent said that subsidiary was just the alter ego of Home Owners
Alter Ego
- no separation of identity between shareholder and corporation
- corporation is alter ego of shareholder
Dewitt Truck Brokers v. Ray Flemming Fruit Co
Closely held corp. Dewitt sought to pierce the corporate veil and impose liability on the president of the corp and court allowed the piercing because:
- corp was president’s personal piggy ban
- no respect of corporate formalities
- thin capitalization
- misrepresentation of personal obligations (told a creditor that he’d pay with personal funds)
Baatz v. Arrow Bar
Baatz injured in auto accident want to pierce corp veil to reach the shareholders of closely held corp. Piercing not allowed because:
- no undercapitalization of the corp
- no failure to observe corporate formalities
- no payment by the corp of individual obligations
Baatz 6 factors that would created injustice:
- fraudulent representation by corporate directors
- undercapitalization of the corporation
- failure to observe corporate formalities
- absence of corporate records
- payment by the corporation of individual obligations
- use of corporation to promote illegalities
Kaycee Land
LLCs treated same as corporations for determination of corporate veil piercings
Capital Account Formula for Partners
- Add capital for contributions and shares of profit
- subtract distributions and losses
- partner w negative capital upon final settlement must pay the partnership that amount
Net Income statement
statement of profit and losses for the year
Balance Sheet
snapshot at one point in time, often at end of year, balance between losses and assets
Cash Flow
Dollars In, Dollars out; different than net income
-doesn’t account for depreciation