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>people even assume there are laws enforcing it Aren't there? I was under the impression that shareholders can and do file lawsuits against directors and execu

>people even assume there are laws enforcing it Aren't there? I was under the impression that shareholders can and do file lawsuits against directors and executive leadership. A cursory Google search suggests that this is true.

EliRivers 8y ago
I was under the impression that shareholders can and do file lawsuits against directors and executive leadership. A cursory Google search suggests that this is true. I'm certainly not suggesting that shareholders can't file lawsuits. Anyone can file lawsuits. Do you mean lawsuits specifically because companies didn't seek to maximise shareholder value? A cursory google search also suggests it's not true. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-co... https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2311&context=facpub https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti... US Supreme Court opinion: “Modern corporate law does not require for-profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and many do not.” and so on. Now, it's true that laws reflect society, and if enough people believe something to be correct for long enough, the law will change. It's certainly true that in recent years we've heard more people, more loudly proclaim, that shareholder value is the whole point and should be the law. We've certainly seen legals cases exploring this. Nonetheless, companies have a number of obligations and responsibilities, and those they hold to their shareholders are but some among many.
- castlecrasher2 8y ago
  I didn't intend to suggest specifically "maximize shareholder value." I was referring more to if directors or officers breach their duty of care they open themselves to lawsuits.
  - EliRivers 8y ago
    Oh, of course they do. So does everyone. If I don't do my job properly, if I have some duty of care that I breach, I open myself to legal action. So do you. So does the guy operating the pump at my local gas station. But this seems to be going off-topic. I was talking about the myth that the law enforces shareholder value above all; not about people neglecting their duty in general. I did say "shareholder value".

EliRivers 8y ago

I was under the impression that shareholders can and do file lawsuits against directors and executive leadership. A cursory Google search suggests that this is true. I'm certainly not suggesting that shareholders can't file lawsuits. Anyone can file lawsuits. Do you mean lawsuits specifically because companies didn't seek to maximise shareholder value? A cursory google search also suggests it's not true. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/corporations-dont-have-to-maximize-profits https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-co... https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2311&context=facpub https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?arti... US Supreme Court opinion: “Modern corporate law does not require for-profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and many do not.” and so on. Now, it's true that laws reflect society, and if enough people believe something to be correct for long enough, the law will change. It's certainly true that in recent years we've heard more people, more loudly proclaim, that shareholder value is the whole point and should be the law. We've certainly seen legals cases exploring this. Nonetheless, companies have a number of obligations and responsibilities, and those they hold to their shareholders are but some among many.

castlecrasher2 8y ago
I didn't intend to suggest specifically "maximize shareholder value." I was referring more to if directors or officers breach their duty of care they open themselves to lawsuits.
- EliRivers 8y ago
  Oh, of course they do. So does everyone. If I don't do my job properly, if I have some duty of care that I breach, I open myself to legal action. So do you. So does the guy operating the pump at my local gas station. But this seems to be going off-topic. I was talking about the myth that the law enforces shareholder value above all; not about people neglecting their duty in general. I did say "shareholder value".