Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(166)
- Faculty Publications (61)
- September 2004 (Revised April 2005)
- Background Note
Note on Individual and Corporate Liability
By: Lynn S. Paine
Answers some of the most common questions managers ask about potential corporate and individual liability for corporate misconduct under U.S. law. Describes a few general principles of liability that managers should be aware of. A rewritten version of an earlier note. View Details
- June 2004 (Revised January 2005)
- Background Note
Principals, Agents, and Partners
By: Arthur I Segel, Armen Panossian and Jeff Mandelbaum
The establishment of the principal-agent relationship, the duties owed by the agent to the principal, and the principal's liability for illegal actions or representations made by the agent are all examined. Also covers the creation of partnerships and the duties of... View Details
- May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
- Case
Music Downloads
By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier
Examines the competition between competing music formats. In the '90s, the MP3 format challenged the traditional means of music distribution by allowing for storage of near CD-quality recordings at 1/10th of their previous size. The threat to traditional distribution... View Details
- August 2002 (Revised August 2002)
- Case
Raiser Senior Services--The Stratford (A)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Focuses on modifying operations to increase profitability at an upscale senior care facility in California. Jennifer Raiser, president of Raiser Senior Services, opened the Stratford in 1992 as a high-end, continuing-care retirement community. Ten years later, the... View Details
- July 2002 (Revised August 2003)
- Case
Unilever Superannuation Fund vs. Merrill Lynch, The
By: Andre F. Perold and Joshua Musher
In 2001, the Unilever Superannuation Fund sued Merrill Lynch for damages of 130 million British pounds. Over the period 1977 to 1998, the Unilever Fund had significantly underperformed the benchmark, and its trustees contended that the poor returns resulted from... View Details
- 2002
- Working Paper
Legal Risk as a Determinant of Syndicate Structure in the Project Finance Loan Market
By: Benjamin C. Esty and William L. Megginson
- November 2001 (Revised April 2005)
- Case
Lonestar
By: Michael A. Wheeler and Georgia Levenson
Explores the legal and ethical responsibilities of a manager who believes that he has heard of a serious instance of sexual harassment, but who has been implored by the victim not to report it. Discussion can focus on the immediate problem or be expanded to a broader... View Details
- 2001
- Other Unpublished Work
'Pure Accidents' and the Evolving Bias of American Liability Law
By: David Moss and Michael Fein
- March 2001 (Revised April 2002)
- Case
Ginzel et al v. Kolcraft Enterprises et al (A)
Examines the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of an infant who died after a portable crib collapsed. The manufacturer, Kolcraft, licensed the Playskool brand name from the co-defendant, Hasbro Industries. Raises difficult questions about what the two... View Details
- August 2000 (Revised November 2001)
- Background Note
Liability Reporting
By: Paul M. Healy and Preeti Choudhary
By examining key criteria for recognizing a liability, this case explores liability recognition in straightforward situations and then examines the most difficult reporting issues in recording liabilities. These often arise when: 1) uncertainty arises about whether an... View Details
- June 1998 (Revised June 1998)
- Background Note
Bankruptcy: A Debtor's Perspective
By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts
Describes the business and legal context surrounding personal and corporate bankruptcy. View Details
- August 1995
- Case
Hutton Branch Manager (D)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz
Describes the actions taken by E.F.Hutton management in response to the Bell Report, a study prepared by former Attorney General Griffin Bell and his law firm after Hutton pleaded guilty to 2,000 counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with its cash management... View Details
- May 1995
- Background Note
Note on Product Liability
By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller
This note provides an overview to the evolution and current state of product liability law in the United States. View Details
- November 1994
- Case
Navistar International
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott
As a consequence of laying off half its workforce in a massive downsizing program, the company--a large manufacturer of medium and heavy trucks--struggles with a huge ($2.6 billion) liability for retiree medical costs. Although the company has promised its retirees... View Details
- November 1994
- Case
Dow Corning and the Breast Implant Controversy (A)
By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller
In early 1994, Dow Corning Corp. debates whether to participate in a proposed $4.2 billion product liability settlement. Specifically, the firm must decide whether to contribute $2 billion to end a class action suit filed by women suffering from connective tissue... View Details
- February 1994 (Revised August 1994)
- Background Note
Note on Contingent Environmental Liabilities
Addresses contingent environmental liabilities that are the result of unforeseen environmental risks where the dollar amount of such liabilities is unknown and depends on future events. In contrast, fines for violating environmental laws are liabilities, but are not... View Details
- October 1992 (Revised August 1994)
- Case
Allied-Signal: Managing the Hazardous Waste Liability Risk
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Edward Prewitt
Allied-Signal, Inc., one of the world's oldest chemical companies and today a diversified conglomerate, is liable for clean-up costs of old hazardous waste sites. These costs are substantial: reserves grew to nearly $500 million in 1991. Attempting to avoid further... View Details
- March 1992 (Revised December 1992)
- Case
Salomon and the Treasury Securities Auction
By: Dwight B. Crane
Set in June 1991, two months prior to Salomon Brothers' announcement that the firm had violated the Treasury Department's rules governing the auctions of new Treasury securities. Salomon Vice Chairman John Meriwether must decide how to address problems that continue to... View Details
- February 1979 (Revised December 1983)
- Case
Allied Chemical Corp. (A)
Describes Allied, the chemical industry, and the effects of the Kepone problem (a toxic pesticide dumped into the James River) as of 1976. The executive in the case must decide whether the company should support the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act and an... View Details
- Article
On the Optimal Structure of Liability Laws
By: Jerry R. Green
We consider the control of tvo-party accidents through the use of liability rules that assign damages according to whether or not predetermined standards for care have been met. Particular emphasis is given to how the differential in the costs of accident avoidance... View Details