Title

Demand in Derivative Actions: Problems of Interpretation and Function

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1986

Abstract

This article explores the question of demand requirements in shareholder derivative litigation. It considers the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of demand requirements under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23.1. It then examines states' treatments of demand on directors and demand on other shareholders, explaining that divergent notions of the function of demand understandably affect courts' interpretation of state derivative litigation laws. The article argues that more consistent approaches to the demand requirements would better enable them to fulfill their purposes.

Comments

reprinted in 29 Corporate Practice Commentary 413 (1986)