Mitch is a director and officer of Numero Uno, Inc. Mitch makes a marketing decision that results in a dramatic decrease in profits for Numero Uno and its shareholders. The shareholders accuse Mitch of breaching his fiduciary duty to the corporation. What is Mitch’s best defense against this accusation? Later, the Numero Uno board considers a resolution for the firm to compete with One-of-a-Kind Corporation. Mitch is a director and shareholder of One-of-a-Kind. What is Mitch’s responsibility in this situation?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The best defense in this context is the business judgment rule. As long as a director or officer does what is necessary to be informed, and acts in good faith, in what he or she considers to be the best interests of the corporation, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would use in similar circumstances, he or she is not liable simply because a decision has a negative result. As for the resolution involving a different corporation, a director cannot support a business that competes directly with a corporation on the board of which the director sits. The director’s fiduciary duty requires him to fully disclose the conflict of interest. Most likely, the director in these circumstances will have to resign from one of the boards.