5 ms·

Why not? Not a lawyer but isn't it fairly normal in criminal law, for example, with a terrorist or criminal organization (and a fair amount of international coo

Why not? Not a lawyer but isn't it fairly normal in criminal law, for example, with a terrorist or criminal organization (and a fair amount of international cooperation there, too)? To be clear not saying DAOs etc. are in any way falling in that area (criminals aside), but why would the method of organization provide a shield unless created by law (such as an LLC)?

chrisco255 4y ago
As I mentioned above, there are already laws on the books in the United States explicitly protecting DAOs from personal liability when they are registered as a DAO: https://sos.wyo.gov/Business/Docs/DAOs_FAQs.pdf https://sos.wyo.gov/Business/Docs/DAOs_FAQs.pdf So there's already an exception to disprove this "universal, international, jointly and severally liable" theory that is going on in this thread. OP was mentioning A16z and the like as if they are not shielded from personal liability for lawsuits targeting the companies they invest in. That's not to say that a16z cannot be sued. But the individual investors that are part of it, that participate in rounds, being sued on a personal level as if they are "jointly and severally liable partners", that is not going to happen. Sorry. Even if Bzx loses their case, the facts of the case are material. The facts of each unique situation matter. Even within the United States. Just as a thought experiment: if a DAO was created by 7 random people on the internet from Dubai, Latvia, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan, how exactly would you go about bringing a lawsuit against them from the United States? And how would you target them on a "jointly and severally liable" basis?
- RandomLensman 4y ago
  Thanks for the explanation. As I said, not a lawyer/not very familiar with US domestic law. For your thought experiment: maybe try to use something from the CFT spectrum, because that you can make stick with a lot of places in some form or another? So not really simple civil law and probably not straight forward (could it even work?)
- jcranmer 4y ago
  > Just as a thought experiment: if a DAO was created by 7 random people on the internet from Dubai, Latvia, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan, how exactly would you go about bringing a lawsuit against them from the United States? And how would you target them on a "jointly and severally liable" basis? Sue the Australian in the Australian court--common law jurisdiction, so it's going to be quite similar to US laws, and personal jurisdiction over them in Australia isn't going to be hard to establish. I get the judgement against them for the full amount, and it's their problem to get the other 6 people to pony up their share. That's what "jointly and severally liable" means: I only need to go after one person for any claims I have; it's their problem to get the pain distributed.
- giaour 4y ago
  > are already laws on the books in the United States explicitly protecting DAOs from personal liability when they are registered as a DAO Isn't this only relevant when ash organization takes the legal steps to register as a DAO in Wyoming? If that is not the explicit corporate governance model, then a default structure is assumed. Analogously, my state (Virginia) has laws on the books limiting my personal liability for judgments against my business iff I register that business as an LLC. If I don't do so, then the business is considered a sole proprietorship, and I can be sued personally for harms my business causes.

chrisco255 4y ago

As I mentioned above, there are already laws on the books in the United States explicitly protecting DAOs from personal liability when they are registered as a DAO: https://sos.wyo.gov/Business/Docs/DAOs_FAQs.pdf https://sos.wyo.gov/Business/Docs/DAOs_FAQs.pdf So there's already an exception to disprove this "universal, international, jointly and severally liable" theory that is going on in this thread. OP was mentioning A16z and the like as if they are not shielded from personal liability for lawsuits targeting the companies they invest in. That's not to say that a16z cannot be sued. But the individual investors that are part of it, that participate in rounds, being sued on a personal level as if they are "jointly and severally liable partners", that is not going to happen. Sorry. Even if Bzx loses their case, the facts of the case are material. The facts of each unique situation matter. Even within the United States. Just as a thought experiment: if a DAO was created by 7 random people on the internet from Dubai, Latvia, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan, how exactly would you go about bringing a lawsuit against them from the United States? And how would you target them on a "jointly and severally liable" basis?

RandomLensman 4y ago
Thanks for the explanation. As I said, not a lawyer/not very familiar with US domestic law. For your thought experiment: maybe try to use something from the CFT spectrum, because that you can make stick with a lot of places in some form or another? So not really simple civil law and probably not straight forward (could it even work?)
jcranmer 4y ago
> Just as a thought experiment: if a DAO was created by 7 random people on the internet from Dubai, Latvia, Colombia, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan, how exactly would you go about bringing a lawsuit against them from the United States? And how would you target them on a "jointly and severally liable" basis? Sue the Australian in the Australian court--common law jurisdiction, so it's going to be quite similar to US laws, and personal jurisdiction over them in Australia isn't going to be hard to establish. I get the judgement against them for the full amount, and it's their problem to get the other 6 people to pony up their share. That's what "jointly and severally liable" means: I only need to go after one person for any claims I have; it's their problem to get the pain distributed.
giaour 4y ago
> are already laws on the books in the United States explicitly protecting DAOs from personal liability when they are registered as a DAO Isn't this only relevant when ash organization takes the legal steps to register as a DAO in Wyoming? If that is not the explicit corporate governance model, then a default structure is assumed. Analogously, my state (Virginia) has laws on the books limiting my personal liability for judgments against my business iff I register that business as an LLC. If I don't do so, then the business is considered a sole proprietorship, and I can be sued personally for harms my business causes.