For any legal professional immersed in the sphere of corporate law, grasping the core concepts of business torts, damage evaluation, and impacts on a corporation’s value is of crucial significance. Recently, an article on JD Supra elucidates these very themes, using an engaging analogy centered on the record-breaking $12.6 million sale of a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card.
The anecdote paints a vivid picture: The prized card, in near-mint condition, is brought home by the new owner who emphatically instructs a friend to not remove the card from its protective sleeve. However, in a thoughtless moment, the friend spills beer on the card while the owner’s attention is elsewhere. This situation strikes a parallel with real-world business scenarios wherein damage, intentional or accidental, to a corporation’s value is inflicted and subsequently needs to be evaluated for legal purposes.
In these cases, one way to measure damages for business torts is by considering the business enterprise value, that is, the worth of the corporation as a going concern. This can have far-reaching effects when companies are dealing with trademark torts, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets, and the like. Regardless of the type of harm inflicted, the crux of the matter remains the accurate determination of damage extent, which in turn often boils down to the estimation of the lost enterprise value.
In forthcoming articles, lawyers from Epstein Becker & Green – the firm behind the analogy laden article – will delve into the implications of this measure of damages, broadening the discourse around the legal ramifications of business torts and the consequent shifts in enterprise value. Legal professionals keen on understanding and applicability of such measures in their corporate law practices will find their examination valuable.