Business Litigation, Derivative Suit, Closely Held Businesses

California Court of Appeal Holds That Derivative Litigation Settlement Procedural Rules Apply Even In Intra-Shareholder Suits in...

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 7/7/2025

In Norman v. Strateman, No. A170356, 2025 WL 1802786 (Cal. App., 1st Dist., June 20, 2025), the California Court of Appeal held that a settlement of derivative claims reached among all shareholders of a close corporation was...more

Limo Company Shareholders Can’t Hitch a Ride in Derivative Litigation

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 5/13/2024

Closely-held business entities come in all shapes and sizes. By definition, under Partnership Law § 10, it takes “two or more” owners to form a general partnership. But corporations and LLCs have no such impediment, ranging...more

Can One 50% Shareholder Sue the Other in the Company Name on the Company Dollar? Answer: It Depends

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 7/10/2023

In the menagerie of closely held companies, those owned and controlled by 50/50 business partners pose unique benefits and challenges. On the benefit side, co-equal ownership and control can foster cooperation,...more

Greetings from the American Bar Association’s 2023 LLC Institute

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 6/12/2023

Over its three-decade rise to the closely-held business entity of choice, the Limited Liability Company has won a special place in our hearts. The majority of disputes we litigate and blog about concern ownership of or...more

The Minority Shareholder’s Arrows Are Still Sharp in the Quiver: Claims Available to Oppressed Minority Shareholders under Texas...

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 3/8/2022

The seven-year anniversary of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Ritchie v. Rupee has come and gone, and the court’s holding from 2014 remains the law: Minority shareholders in Texas private companies do not have a cause...more

Derivative Lawsuits by Private Company Minority Owners: Procedures for Protecting the Company from Insider Misconduct

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 3/8/2022

By definition, a minority owner in a private company does not have control over the business or the right to make decisions for the company. But minority owners do have legal recourse when the company’s majority owners –...more

Appeals Court Reinstates Derivative Claims Dismissed for Conflict of Interest Where Parties’ Relationship Not “Especially...

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 3/12/2018

Almost always there are elements of acrimony and intense emotion in litigation between co-owners of closely held business entities. The degree of toxicity can vary widely from case to case, although it tends to show up more...more

Business Litigation › Derivative Suit › Closely Held Businesses