Volume 7 / Number 3 / Fall 2003

This page contains the abstracts, as well as links to the complete document on Westlaw.com, for the articles in our Fall 2003 Issue.

 

Articles

 

The Efficiency of Direct Public Offerings
Anita Indira Anand
Westlaw
One of the most powerful mechanisms by which governments and firms can raise capital is by offering securities to the public without an underwriter through a direct public offering (DPO). Although governments at all levels have conducted DPOs, corporations have generally not adopted the DPO as a means of financing the firm. Using transaction cost analysis, this Article contends corporations could benefit greatly from conducting DPOs. In particular, if the DPO occurs over the Internet, involves seasoned issuers, debt securities, or institutional investors, information asymmetries can be reduced and it is possible for the DPO to be completed more efficiently.

“Do Not Call” Laws and the First Amendment: Testing the Limits of Commercial Free Speech Protection
Stephen M. Worth
Westlaw
This Article focuses on the regulation of telemarketers. Though written before implementation of the National Do Not Call Registry, this Article anticipates many of the recent challenges to its legality. Although consumers are nearly unanimous in their support of “Do Not Call” lists, courts and legal scholars are not so enamored.

 

Comments

 

Pointing Fingers - Will the Real Employer Please Stand Up! When is an Entity an Employer in a Sexual Harassment Claim?
Gina M. Delahunt
Westlaw
This Comment examines the conflicting common law and statutory definitions of who is considered an employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in sexual harassment cases. It also discusses the measures businesses can take to protect both the employer and employees to minimize or eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Certainty of Death and Taxes for Family Limited Partnerships
Leslie A. Droubay
Westlaw
This Comment discusses the advent of the family limited partnership (FLP) and its use by taxpayers as a tax-avoidance mechanism. It also discusses the IRS’s reaction to FLPs and the Tax Court’s invalidation of FLP interests through the application of I.R.C. section 2036(a).

Should the Oregon Small Business Owner Sponsor Mentor-Student Relationships?
Dan Eller
Westlaw
In the concurring opinion in Minnis v. Oregon Mutual Insurance Co., Oregon Supreme Court Justice Riggs indicated that an employer can be liable for tortious conduct arising from an increasingly common supervisor-employee relationship—the mentor-student relationship—even if this conduct occurred outside of the work environment and not during work hours. This Comment considers the impact of this pronouncement in light of current Oregon respondeat superior, or vicarious liability, law by analyzing a hypothetical workplace mentor-student relationship. Section II discusses the development of respondeat superior law in Oregon. Section III describes the seminal case, Chesterman v. Barmon, which refined the requirements for the “scope of employment” component of respondeat superior. Section IV reviews the primary case law that further developed the elements of the Chesterman test. Section V reviews the most recent case law development, Minnis, and the import of Justice Riggs’ concurrence. Finally, Section VI discusses the current boundaries of employer vicarious liability and concludes with some advice to the small business owner.

 

Recent Developments

 

Anti-Spam Laws and Emerging Internet Businesses
Joseph P. Kendrick
Westlaw
Nearly everyone who regularly uses the Internet has experienced some degree of frustration over the increasing volume of unwanted email. Congress and most state legislatures are considering, or have enacted, legislation to regulate unsolicited email. While these laws do contain provisions for protecting consumers against misleading advertisements or scams, anti-spam laws which require subject line labeling of unsolicited commercial email may do more to interfere with legitimate attempts by emerging Internet businesses to develop their markets.