The Evolving Corporate Opportunity Doctrine: Is New Zealand Law Being Left Behind

Struan Scott, The Evolving Corporate Opportunity Doctrine: Is New Zealand Law Being Left Behind. New Zealand Business Law Quarterly 11(3): 264-287 (2005).

24 Pages Posted: 11 Feb 2019

See all articles by Struan Scott

Struan Scott

University of Otago - Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

This article focuses on the tests and legal doctrine employed by courts to determine when a business opportunity discovered by a company director or senior employee should be regarded as a ‘corporate opportunity’ (i.e. one belonging to the company). The article is significant for revealing misleading associations or analogies some NZ courts have developed. Analysis of leading NZ, commonwealth and US case law suggests that NZ lawyers are in danger of developing a corporate opportunity doctrine that is unable to respond to the changing role of directors. Building on commonwealth and US case law the article proposes key components in a new theoretical structure designed to explain when a business opportunity belongs to the company.

Note: Reproduced with permission of Thomson Reuters New Zealand Limited, www.thomsonreuters.co.nz.

Keywords: Corporate and Commercial Law, Company Law, Business Law, New Zealand, US

JEL Classification: K00, K20

Suggested Citation

Scott, Struan, The Evolving Corporate Opportunity Doctrine: Is New Zealand Law Being Left Behind (2005). Struan Scott, The Evolving Corporate Opportunity Doctrine: Is New Zealand Law Being Left Behind. New Zealand Business Law Quarterly 11(3): 264-287 (2005)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3321551

Struan Scott (Contact Author)

University of Otago - Faculty of Law ( email )

PO Box 56
Dunedin North
Dunedin, 9016
New Zealand

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