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Breach of Duty Limited Liability Company (LLC) Business Divorce

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLCs Can Assert Offensive Claims Against Members

In “business divorce” litigation involving LLCs, it is common to see a disgruntled LLC member asserting claims against the LLC’s manager. Depending on the type of harm alleged, those claims might be asserted directly (by the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2024

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Welcome to our 17th annual edition of the Top 10 business divorce cases featured on this blog over the past year. This year’s selections buck the trend of previous years in which cases involving limited liability...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Diving Into the Shallow Waters of New York Law Permitting Elimination of LLC Managers' Liability for Breach of Fiduciary Duty

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There’s a ton of Delaware caselaw enforcing Section 18-1101 (c) of that state’s LLC Act as amended in 2004, authorizing LLC agreements to eliminate the members’ and managers’ liability for breach of fiduciary duty, the only...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Diving Into the Shallow Waters of New York Law Permitting Elimination of LLC Managers’ Liability for Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

There’s a ton of Delaware caselaw enforcing Section 18-1101 (c) of that state’s LLC Act as amended in 2004, authorizing LLC agreements to eliminate the members’ and managers’ liability for breach of fiduciary duty, the only...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Parallel Business and Matrimonial Divorce Proceedings

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Parallel business divorce proceedings in the same or different courts alleging overlapping or duplicative claims are common. When it occurs, judges must often determine whether to dispose of one so the other may proceed...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2023

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Some years are easier than others to select the most significant business divorce cases. In this, the 16th year I’ve published this top-10 list, the task is made especially difficult by a veritable flood of court decisions...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Surrogate’s Court Jurisdiction to Resolve Close Business Owner Disputes

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Do New York’s Surrogate’s Courts have jurisdiction to compel an accounting related to a non-party limited liability company in which the decedent’s estate has only a minority interest? ...more

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

California Business Divorce: Corporate Opportunity Usurpation and Best Practices to Avoid it in Your California LLC

Going into business with someone requires a high level of trust. For a business to thrive, business partners must be loyal to the business and each other. As in a marriage, when a partner in a business is disloyal, things...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Winter Case Notes: Punitive Damages Awarded for Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Other Recent Decisions of Interest

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Notwithstanding that the pictured snow globe is the only snow I’ve seen in my neck of the woods this balmy winter, I’m pleased to present my annual Winter Case Notes collection of recent court decisions of interest....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Recurring Business Divorce Feature: Usurpation of Corporate Opportunity

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

One of the earliest signs that a closely-held business is headed for divorce lies in how its owners treat new opportunities. When the relationship among the owners reaches a certain level of distrust, an owner presented with...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Business Divorce, Brooklyn Style

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The pictured architectural rendering of the sunlit Kings County Supreme Courthouse at 360 Adams Street, completed in 1957, doesn’t quite capture the reality of its dour, hulking presence in downtown Brooklyn. Its design...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Loan Is a Loan Is a Loan, Except When It’s Equity

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Disputes over capital accounts and equity percentages are frequent fodder for business divorce litigation — especially in LLCs without operating agreements. Exemplars previously treated on this blog include Chiu v Chiu, an...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Gordon Ramsay’s The Fat Cow: Dishing Up Damages and Dissolution

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

You know you’re in big trouble if the post-trial decision in a lawsuit you filed begins like this: “The court finds the plaintiff, Rowen Seibel, not credible. This is primarily because it appears he fabricated evidence...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2021

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

It’s been another year of important case law developments in business divorce controversies. I’m pleased to present my 14th annual list of the past year’s ten most significant cases....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Disguised Agreements and Dissolution

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Appearances can be deceiving. - That, essentially, was the argument made in two recently decided cases involving claims for judicial dissolution. ...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Portrait of a Mangled Business Divorce

Business divorce can be messy, as reflected by many of the cases covered here at The LLC Jungle. Two issues that frequently arise during the dissolution of an LLC are: 1. the statutory buyout procedure, and 2. claims for...more

Gray Reed

Villareal v. Saenz: Fiduciary Duties Will Go On

Gray Reed on

In Villareal v. Saenz, a district court magistrate judge for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, has recognized that members exiting a limited liability company may continue to hold fiduciary duties despite...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Court Enjoins Dilution of Brewing Company LLC Membership Interest

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Most folks associate beer with pleasure. Many craft brewers will tell you they went into business for that reason: to make themselves and others happy (and, oh yeah, make money). ...more

Winstead PC

Exiting Member of LLC May Still Owe Fiduciary Duties

Winstead PC on

In Villareal v. Saenz, two co-owners of a limited liability company sued each other regarding conduct surrounding a business divorce. 5-20-CV-00571-OLG-RBF, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94183 (W.D. Tex. May 18, 2021). After the...more

Winstead PC

Business Divorce: Exiting Member of LLC May Still Owe Fiduciary Duties

Winstead PC on

In Villareal v. Saenz, two co-owners of a limited liability company sued each other regarding conduct surrounding a business divorce. 5-20-CV-00571-OLG-RBF, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94183 (W.D. Tex. May 18, 2021)....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

“Intentional” Breach of Fiduciary Duty Defeats Operating Agreement’s Exculpatory Clause

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Last week, Peter Mahler blogged about a recent decision holding that a minority shareholder’s claim against its majority co-owners for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a sale of the business to a third party...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Money’s There But Out of Reach for the Minority LLC Member

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Of late I’ve been ruminating on New York’s membership in the shrinking pool of states that don’t recognize oppression of an LLC minority member by the controlling members or managers as ground for judicial dissolution....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Winter Case Notes: Dissolution of Not-For-Profit Corporation and Other Decisions of Interest

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Here in the New York metro area, for the first time in years winter is living up to its name. The snow-plowed streets and sub-freezing temperatures are a natural setting for this sixth annual edition of Winter Case Notes in...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Re-Revisiting The Duty to Disclose Third-Party Offers Amidst Buy-Out Negotiations

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Three weeks ago, I wrote about the Bak v Rostek case in Brooklyn Supreme Court addressing the duty to disclose third-party offers amidst buy-out negotiations between co-owners. ...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Two Entities, Two Outcomes: Withdrawal and the Right to an Accounting

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In Jacobs v Cartalemi, now the leading case on the subject of LLC member withdrawal (which our firm had the pleasure of litigating), the Appellate Division – Second Department repeated a well-established principle of law:...more

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