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THE “INTERNAL AFFAIRS DOCTRINE,” WHICH ADDRESSES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN A COMPANY AND ITS DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS, APPLIES TO THE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS AT THE TIME OF THE CONDUCT ALLEGED IN THE LAWSUIT, NOT AT THE TIME THE LAWSUIT WAS BROUGHT; CONTRARY AUTHORITY SHOULD NO LONGER BE FOLLOWED (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the “internal affairs doctrine” required the application of the law of the jurisdiction of FanDuel, a Scottish company.  The “internal affairs doctrine” addresses the relationships between a company and its directors and shareholders. The doctrine applies to officers and directors at the time of the conduct alleged in the suit, not at the time of the lawsuit. Prior authority to the contrary should not be followed:

We reject plaintiff’s argument that the internal affairs doctrine applies only to officers and directors at the time of the lawsuit. Rather, the question is whether defendants were “current officers [or] directors” … at the time of the events giving rise to the lawsuit … . Application of the doctrine to former directors protects the parties’ justified expectations, promotes uniformity and predictability of outcome, and prevents different laws from applying to different directors who all engaged in the same challenged transaction simply because of the date on which plaintiff chose to sue … . To the extent our past decisions could be interpreted as suggesting otherwise we clarify that the internal affairs doctrine applies to an officer or director at the time of the conduct at issue … . Eccles v Shamrock Capital Advisors, LLC, 2022 NY Slip Op 05750, First Dept 10-13-22

Practice Point: In corporation law, the “internal affairs doctrine,” which addresses the relationships between a company and its officers and directors, applies to the officers and directors at the time of the conduct alleged in the lawsuit, not at the time the lawsuit was brought. Authority to the contrary should no longer be followed.

 

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