Was it “an unfortunate attempt to second-guess or even force a ‘do over’ of the appraisal,” as the one side would have it? Or was it a “rigged” and “corrupted” appraisal process that took place behind closed doors and...more
Three shareholders co-own an 8-year old internet-based “marketeer” business that imports Chinese-manufactured sinks, faucets, and related plumbing fixtures that it sells primarily to distributors and retailers in the United...more
This episode features a lively interview with Donald J. Weidner, Dean Emeritus of the Florida State University College of Law and one of the leading authorities in the country on partnerships and LLCs. Don’s latest article,...more
If you read most any operating agreement for a manager-managed LLC, chances are you’ll find somewhere in it a grant of decision-making authority in the manager’s “sole and absolute discretion” or verbiage to similar effect....more
Two of my pet topics — dysfunctional buy-sell agreements and application of federal court abstention doctrine in private company disputes — intersect in a decision issued last month in Ray v Raj Bedi Revocable Trust, Case No....more
LLC enabling legislation swept the country in the late 1980s through the mid 1990s. By the turn of the century we saw a trickle of litigation working its way through the courts involving disputes among LLC co-owners. A decade...more
The proverb “All for the want of a horseshoe nail” aptly describes the possibly mortal blow dealt by the Appellate Division’s recent decision in Favourite Ltd. v Cico, 2020 NY Slip Op 01463 [1st Dept Mar. 3, 2020], to a...more
The Comic Strip is the oldest stand-up comedy showcase club in New York City. Its co-founders Robert Wachs and Richard Tienken opened the club in 1975 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side....more
Article 12 of New York’s Limited Liability Company Law authorizes the formation of professional service limited liability companies (PLLC). Eligible professions include lawyers, medical doctors, accountants, architects, and...more
Welcome to this year’s edition of Winter Case Notes in which I highlight a collection of recent court decisions of interest to business divorce aficionados by way of brief synopses with links to the decisions for those who...more
2/24/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Corporate Dissolution ,
Demand Futility ,
Derivative Suit ,
Shareholder Demands ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims
I’ve yet to see him make a court appearance, and hope I never do, but the Grim Reaper sure has a knack for disrupting business divorce litigation involving LLCs and limited partnerships....more
2/10/2020
/ Assignments ,
Automatic Stay ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Court ,
Controlling Person ,
Decedent Protection ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dissolution ,
Family Businesses ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Ownership Interest ,
Partnership Interests ,
Partnerships ,
Real Estate Market ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Transfer of Control ,
Unfair Dealing
The case of Shapiro v Ettenson ranks as one of the more consequential ones in the realm of New York’s LLC jurisprudence....more
2/4/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Capital Calls ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Damages ,
Expulsion ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Member Removal ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements
I was especially drawn to the case I’m about to introduce involving LLC member withdrawal, owing to the Jacobs v Cartalemi case that I litigated to a successful conclusion about two years ago, also involving member...more
1/27/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Divorce ,
Buyouts ,
Commercial Property Owners ,
Default ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Members ,
Membership Interest ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Operating Agreements ,
Right of First Refusal ,
Withdrawal
Not for the first time, I find myself intrigued by the federal courts’ resistance to hearing state law claims for judicial dissolution of business entities where subject matter jurisdiction otherwise exists based on diversity...more
1/13/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Entities ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Court ,
Commercial Leases ,
Common Law Claims ,
Contract Renewal ,
Damages ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dissolution ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
First Impression ,
Holding Companies ,
Investment ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Nonprofits ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders ,
State Law Claims ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Statutory Violations ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Unjust Enrichment
This year’s list offers a good mix of business entities: six involve disputes among LLC members, two involve law firms organized as limited liability partnerships, one involves an accounting firm organized as a professional...more
12/30/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Bad Faith ,
Business Divorce ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Deadlock ,
Damages ,
Defense Strategies ,
Dissolution ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Family Businesses ,
First Impression ,
General Partner ,
Holding Companies ,
Hostile Environment ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
K-1 ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Shareholder Oppression
In the end, it wasn’t much of a fight.
The case of Huggins v Scott, decided last month by Justice W. Franc Perry of the Manhattan Supreme Court, illustrates anew the well-nigh insurmountable hurdle faced by a minority...more
12/9/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Receivership
In 2018, two members of a realty holding LLC sought judicial dissolution based on the death of one of the other members. The operating agreement defines a member’s death as an event of “Dissociation.”...more
11/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Decedent Protection ,
Dismissals ,
Dissolution ,
Inheritance ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Property Valuation ,
Real Estate Market ,
Rental Property
330 West 85th Street is a prime location on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. At that address sits an elegant, pre-war, 48-unit rental apartment building known as The Rexmere. A 4th floor one-bedroom apartment currently is...more
The title of this post describes not an army maneuver, but the outcome of a recent lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court for advancement of litigation expenses in which...more
11/4/2019
/ Advancement ,
Amended Complaints ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Divorce ,
Confidential Information ,
Contract Terms ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Employment Contract ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Indemnity ,
Insider Trading ,
Litigation Fees & Costs ,
Merger Agreements ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Post-Termination Acts ,
Pre-Termination Notice ,
Statutory Interpretation
Here we go again — and again and again.
On numerous prior occasions I’ve written about judicial dissolution cases and other infighting among LLC members featuring disputes over membership percentages. ...more
In my business divorce travels occasionally I encounter instances in which shareholder distributions are made in the period between the valuation date for an elective buyout of a minority shareholder who sued for dissolution...more
The nationwide landscape of statutes and case law governing judicial dissolution of limited liability companies exhibits more state-to-state similarity than dissimilarity....more
9/23/2019
/ Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Buyouts ,
Capital Contributions ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Purpose ,
Dissolution ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Sale of Assets ,
Statutory Interpretation
Parking lots breed partnership disputes. I’ve litigated them and I’ve written about them, most notably the Kassab saga.
I suppose it’s the untapped development potential of parking lots, especially in flourishing downtown...more
What makes someone a member of an LLC?
It’s a question that frequently arises in business divorce cases involving LLCs that have no written operating agreement much less certificated membership interests. ...more
LLC enabling statutes authorize two types of management structures. The default structure is member-managed in which all members participate in the management of the company’s business affairs. Member-managed LLCs usually...more