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Business Divorce Business Disputes

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Splitting the Pie Fairly: Using Creativity to Achieve a Successful Business Divorce

Throwing the baby out with the bath water is a pithy expression that suggests exercising caution when business partners in private companies are seeking to achieve a business divorce. The majority owner and the departing...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Winter Case Notes: Nice Try, But the Agreements Say What They Say

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Spring is soon upon us. March Madness is at our doorstep. The Formula 1 season is underway. Baseball season will be in full swing shortly. And my allergies are already in bloom....more

Offit Kurman

Building and Exiting Business Partnerships

Offit Kurman on

Join attorneys Sarah Sawyer and Russell Berger from Offit Kurman as they discuss the dynamics of business relationships. In this episode of OK at Work, they explore the importance of proactive planning in partnerships, the...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

I’ll Cry if I Want To – But Taking Steps to Avoid Tears Is a Better Strategy for Private Company Business Partners

In recent years, the headlines have tracked the news of high-profile breakups among business partners in private companies. These business partner fallouts include: - 2023: Sam Altman was ousted as Open AI CEO (for...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Can a Shareholder Be Oppressed After Ceding Control? Oppression, Reasonable Expectations, and Contractual Formalism

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One of the first business divorce cases that I participated in as a young litigator was a lengthy arbitration over whether a minority shareholder was oppressed under BCL 1104-a.  With those fond memories, evolution of the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2024

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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.

When Less Effort Leads to More Trouble: Quiet Quitting and Fiduciary Accountability

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We frequently see a partner’s “fiduciary duties” expressed as the union of the duty of loyalty and the duty of care.  The duty of loyalty requires fiduciaries to avoid elevating the interests of any other person or entity...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Leaf Through a Busy November in New York LLC Litigation

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

November was a whirlwind month for New York LLC litigation.  It featured disputes over how to wind up a judicially dissolved LLC, a bitter intra-family emergency indemnification/advancement injunction, and the finale of a...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

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

California Business Divorce: The Power of LLC Members to Ratify Past Actions Despite Defective Meeting Notices

Here’s What Happened This dispute arose from the operations of 409 North Camden, LLC, which owns a two-story office building in Beverly Hills. The property's history dates back to 1963, when six friends purchased it as...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Recent Appellate Rulings Address Novel Issues in General Partnership Disputes

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The era of the old-fashioned general partnership long ago petered out, largely displaced by subchapter S corporations and, in the last few decades, limited liability companies, both of which allow pass-through taxation...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Gift Horse with Rotten Teeth: When Equity Bequests Violate Transfer Restrictions or Buy-Sell Agreements

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How often do hopeful beneficiaries of a last will and testament expect to receive what they think will be a valuable bequest of a business interest, only to find their joy turn to despair when they discover the bequest...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Conditional Grants of Membership Interests Are a Roadway to Courtroom Conflict

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In the world of business divorce litigation, this summer saw everything but a slowdown.  We witnessed (and blogged about) Justice Crane cap a long-running fair value proceeding with helpful guidance on appraisals and...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Freedom (But with Consequences): In Delaware, Absolute Litigation Privilege Inapplicable to Nullify Contractual Non-Disparagement...

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The absolute litigation privilege is a long-standing legal principle that statements made during the course of a judicial proceeding by participants in the proceeding (whether parties, attorneys, witnesses, or judges) are...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Prudent Management or Financial Starvation: Can Minority Members Compel the Majority to Make Distributions?

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“It all started when the distributions stopped.”  In my travels as a business divorce litigator, I’ve seen many disputes between LLC co-owners that begin with that message.  A minority owner is content to remain a “silent...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: An Unusual Application of LLC Law § 608 and Other Decisions of Interest

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Welcome to this 14th annual edition of Summer Shorts. This year’s edition features brief commentary on three recent decisions by New York courts in business divorce cases. The featured cases involve a suit pitting three...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

My Partner Just Sued Me: Strategies Majority Owners Should Consider in Defending Claims Filed by Private Company Investors

Conflicts between co-owners in private companies are common, but the vast majority are worked out through dialogue and negotiation. When these internal conflicts cannot be resolved, however, minority investors may file suit...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

All in the Family: Succession Issues in Family-Owned Businesses

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On this episode of “Splitting Heirs,” Warren K. Racusin talks with Lowenstein partner Nick San Filippo IV, Chair of the firm’s Business Divorce practice, and Jeff Savlov, a partner in the family business and wealth consulting...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Did Chancery Court Just Crack Open the Door to Equitable Dissolution of LLCs?

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Delaware Chancery Court’s contractarian approach to all things LLC, embedded statutorily in Section 18-1101(b) of the Delaware LLC Act (“It is the policy of this chapter to give the maximum effect to the principle of freedom...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Special Considerations for Law Firm Breakups

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Just a few weeks ago, I commented on a recent uptick in disputes centered on the breakup of professional services firms. In those disputes, we expect that the demands of the legal, accounting, and medical professions draw...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Opening Up the Business Partner Time Capsule: Partnership Lessons Shared by Owners and Investors

Hindsight can be a wonderful thing, especially if hard-earned lessons are adopted by others who are willing to learn from past mistakes. When private company owners and investors share with me some of the wisdom they have...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

It Takes More Than a Litigation Tsunami Between Hostile Members to Obtain Judicial Dissolution of a Realty-Holding LLC

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Count ’em: At the time A sued B for judicial dissolution of one of their several jointly owned companies, there are not one, not two, not three, but eight pending lawsuits between the two 50/50 business partners who first...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Oral Joint Ventures: The Wild West of Business Associations

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The lion’s share of cases we write about on New York Business Divorce involve consummated business relationships where the warring parties have clearly chosen the particular entity form governing their relations, whether it...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

I Need to Sue My Longtime Business Partner(s): What Pitfalls Should I Consider Before Filing Suit

As a business trial lawyer representing private company owners and investors in business divorce disputes and civil litigation for many years, my experience teaches that business partners should approach litigation with...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

When Law Firms Break Bad: The Valuation Battle Over Contingency Fees and Crypto Tokens

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As both a practitioner and a close follower of New York business divorce caselaw, I’ve seen a recent uptick in disputes centered on the breakup of professional services firms and cryptocurrency businesses. Perhaps the crypto...more

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