Lasker v. Burks’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

4 federal appellate · 1 district ·

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 11 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Judge Werker ruled that: “ . . . the Board of Directors met and designated the independent directors to make a decision as to the Fund’s position in that suit. In the Court’s view, the independent minority of directors had the power to decide what position the Fund should take. This is consistent with the policy that a corporation be given the opportunity to control a lawsuit brought on its behalf, that the Board be allowed to exercise its normal functions in running the corporation, and that a derivative suit should be resorted to as a last alternative.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Gall v. Exxon Corp.

2. “The court must also reject plaintiffs’ argument that the decision not to sue was tantamount to an illegal ratification. Although it can be argued that derivative suits should be allowed when the Board has refused to sue on a non-ratifiable wrong, the question of business judgment is separate from the question of ratification. Many of the cases which established the business judgment rule and its relation to derivative suits have involved claims which were arguably non-ratifiable.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Joy v. North

3. ““absent a statutory exception whether a cause of action is expressly authorized or is ‘implied’ the directors of a corporation should be given the chance to perform their duties in running the business of the corporation, including whether to prosecute a cause of action. 404 F.Supp. at 1180 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 426 F. Supp. 844 - Lasker v. Burks