On February 20, 2019 we posted about whether the Bezos’ divorce would impact SEC disclosure requirements for public companies.  In this regard, Amazon’s recent filing may offer additional support to those who wish to argue that personal matters impacting management, or a shareholder who owns a controlling stake in the company, should be disclosed.

SBW is pleased to report that our partner Steve Willey has been named a “BTI Client Service All-Star” for 2019.

Unique among those who review or rate legal services, BTI’s appellation relies only on the input of clients, predominantly major companies.  No attorney or firm can self-nominate, self-refer, nor pay to be included in this report, and peers at the bar also have no say.  Clients have the final–and only–say in the identification of those named.  To be included in the BTI report, an All-Star lawyer must be singled out–by name and in an unprompted manner–as delivering the absolute best client service.  Read more about BTI here.

Minority shareholders—those who don’t own a controlling interest in a corporation—frequently do not have a say in corporate financial or management decisions.  And in closely held corporations, such shareholders also may not be able to easily sell their stock.  But the law provides certain protections.  Among other things, Washington law gives minority shareholders the right to inspect certain corporate records.  Minority shareholders also have the right to bring a suit on behalf of the company under circumstances where the controlling shareholders can’t or won’t bring one (a “derivative” lawsuit).  Perhaps most important, minority shareholders have legal rights that offer some protection against “oppression” by controlling stockholders.

When used effectively, Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure gives defendants a powerful and often underestimated tool.  Rule 68 allows “a party defending against a claim” to serve an offer of judgment with “the costs then accrued.”[1]  The offeree then has 14 days to accept the offer, or the offer is considered withdrawn.  If the offer of judgment is not accepted and the judgment that the claimant eventually obtains “is not more favorable than the unaccepted offer,” the claimant “must pay the costs incurred after the offer was made.”[2]

Recently the chief executive and controlling shareholder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, the novelist MacKenzie Bezos, announced that they will divorce.  Thus far at least the news has not had a lasting effect on Amazon’s stock price, even though investors do not know how the couple’s 16% controlling stake in the company will be affected by the divorce.

In this day and age, news travels fast, and news of crises travels even faster.  Take, as an example, the forcible removal of Dr. David Dao from a United Airlines flight by officers last year.  The action, in which Dr. Dao was violently dragged off a plane after being seated in order to make room for a United employee, was videoed on a passenger’s cell phone and widely distributed—resulting in a public-relations mess for United.

Mr. David Bruce will present “Making Your Case” as part of a one-day seminar on Landslides sponsored by the Seminar Group, October 25th 2018, at the Washington Athletic Club. This seminar is an opportunity for attorneys, claims professionals, and others to learn the nuts and bolts of landslides in Washington. Slope movement events in western Washington have become more frequent and more ...

Michele Stephen and Miles Yanick will be attending the IRGlobal Annual Event in London on October 13 – 16, 2018.  The focus of this event is “Communication Matters”.  Simply  put,  effective  business  communication  is  the  lifeblood  of  any  organization.  It  helps  you  convey  your  ideas;  lead,  guide,  and motivate  your  employees;  and  resolve  conflicts  and  issues.  To  tackle  this  subject,  we  will  share  experiences  and  hear  from  a  variety  of  experts  including  world  renowned top  10  TED  speaker  of  all  time  Julian  Treasure.

Disputes often arise in the middle of a deposition—such as how to allocate the time available for deposing a third-party witness, the scope of a 30(b)(6) deposition, or simply the permissibility of a line of questioning or an objection.  Although these are opportune times to call the judge for an immediate and timely ruling, parties often are reluctant to do this.

Mr. David Bruce presented on the topic of Class Certification at the Seminar Group’s 21st Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference on August 24th, 2018.

In his presentation titled “Class Certification: The End or Just The Beginning”, Mr. Bruce discussed how wage and hour class actions present issues of CR 23 commonality and predominance, highlighted in U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes.