According to the following authority, which as of the date of this blog is still good law in California, “Even fraudulent, perjurious and malicious ‘publications’ and ‘broadcasts’ are absolutely privileged so long as they are (i) required or permitted by law, (ii) made in a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, (iii) by litigants or other participants authorized by law, (iv) to achieve the objects of the litigation, and (v) have some connection or logical relation to the action.” Silberg v. Anderson (1990) 50 C3d 205, 213-214.

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A.    ALTER EGO CLAIMS

1.    CLOSELY HELD CORPORATIONS

Are you the sole shareholder of a corporation? Is your company at risk of a lawsuit or unable to pay its debts? Even if you hired an attorney to incorporate and prepare initial minutes, if you dominated and controlled the company, failed to maintain adequate entity minutes or records, commingled personal and corporate funds, you can be held personally liable for the corporation’s debts under the alter ego doctrine for acts knowingly and intentionally done in the name of the corporation. An experienced plaintiff’s attorney may sue both the corporation and you (its sole shareholder) in an attempt to pierce the corporate veil.  Under current California law, where a corporation is used by an individual to perpetrate a fraud or accomplish a wrongful act, the court may disregard the corporate entity and treat the acts of the entity as if they were the acts of the individual. 9 Witkin, Summary of Law (9th Ed. 1989) Corporations, §12, p. 524.

The Catalyst Law Group is a full service business, corporate and intellectual property law firm that handles transactional and litigation matters for its clients including the prosecution and defense of alter ego claims servicing clients in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties.

Part 3 of a 3 Part Series

What is a hedge fund?

A hedge fund is a fund, usually used by wealthy individuals and institutions, which is allowed to use aggressive strategies that are unavailable to mutual funds, including selling short, leverage, program trading, swaps, arbitrage, and derivatives. Hedge funds are exempt from many of the rules and regulations governing other mutual funds, which allow them to accomplish aggressive investing goals. They are restricted by law to no more than 100 investors per fund, and as a result most hedge funds set extremely high minimum investment amounts, ranging anywhere from $250,000 to over $1 million. As with traditional mutual funds, investors in hedge funds pay a management fee; however, hedge funds also collect a percentage of the profits (usually around 20%).

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Part 2 of a 3 Part Series

What exactly is an “angel investor”?

Entrepreneurs who launch smaller-scale enterprises know that commercial banks generally don't lend funds to ventures with little or no assets, customer base or sales track record. And venture capitalists typically work with business concepts that are already up and running with the potential for multimillion dollar revenues. Many of the owners of smaller firms have heard that “angel investors” can provide funding and even some much-needed expertise and referrals for these in-between business deals. So who are these people and what kinds of investment terms can owners expect?

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Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

As a San Diego lawyer, I am frequently asked questions regarding funding and how to get it.  Below I have written out some definitions and explanations that I think will be useful in regards to funding.

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This slide show is intended to provide a brief overview of a proper business executive summary as seen from the point of view of prospective investors. Catalyst Law Group is a dynamic San Diego business law firm that is uniquely positioned to serve domestic and international business clients. We hope you find these slides helpful for business planning purposes.

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