The distributions of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are comprised of components that differ in how they are taxed to the recipient shareholders. This variation in tax characteristics enables us to study the effect of shareholder taxes on stock prices around ex-dividend days, while...

We study the effects of regulating the timing of disclosure on the quality of accounting information, using a 2003 U.S. regulatory change that accelerates 10-K filing deadlines as a research setting. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find that the likelihood of issuing financial...

Zombie mortgages and abandoned properties are costly problems for cities and counties across the country. The term “zombie mortgage” is meant to, and hopefully does, evoke images of undead mortgages that are nearly impossible to eliminate. In the legal literature, the term is used to...

At least as early as the ancient Olympic games, athletes have traveled to engage in competition. Participation in the games was so revered that military truces were enacted to secure the safety of spectators and athletes alike. In modern times, we can look to the holding of the first modern...

This essay critically examines MERS' structure which incorporates principles of dubious legality such as a theory of common agency as well as a duality of roles held by MERS. The article examines many recent decisions in state, federal and bankruptcy courts in order to identify current trends...

We study the effects of regulating the timing of disclosure on the quality of accounting information, using a 2003 U.S. regulatory change that accelerates 10-K filing deadlines as a research setting. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find that the likelihood of issuing financial...

We study determinants of internal control reporting decisions during the SOX 404 era using a sample of restating firms whose original misstatements are linked to underlying control weaknesses. We find that only a minority of these firms acknowledge their existing control weaknesses during their...

Part I of this Article briefly explains the context and scope of the problem of zombie mortgages – mortgages that are in default but for which the lender refuses or fails to foreclose. Zombie mortgages saddle the record owner with ongoing tax and maintenance obligations which they may not be...

In this era of "robo-signers," asset-backed securities and unprecedented foreclosures, the mechanics of collecting on a promissory note accompanying a mortgage or deed of trust are often forgotten or not followed for a number of reasons such as: the sheer volume of paperwork accompanying every...

To inform the debate on the merits of internal control audits, we examine managers' decisions to temporarily exempt newly acquired businesses from Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We provide evidence that managers are more likely to elect the exemption when expected compliance costs are...