Starting Your Own Company? Officers, Directors and Controlling Shareholders Beware

Starting your own Limited Liability Company or corporation?  Chicago business lawyer Brian J. Thompson wants you to know that officers, directors and controlling shareholders who leave one corporation to start a competing enterprise need to beware of the corporate opportunity doctrine.   A corporate opportunity refers to any business opportunity that becomes known to an officer or director of a corporation due his position within the company.  The corporate opportunity doctrine holds that the directors, officers and controlling shareholders have a duty of loyalty to the corporation and cannot to take such opportunities for themselves without first disclosing the opportunity to the board of directors of the corporation and getting permission from the board of directors.  Failure to follow this procedure can be a violation of the duty of loyalty.  As a result, the corporation may be entitled to a constructive trust of all profits obtained from the violation of the corporate opportunity doctrine.   Contact Chicago business lawyer and CPA Brian J. Thompson for to form your Illniois LLC or Illinois S-Corporation.

Author: Brian Thompson

Chicago CPA and attorney

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