The Briefing: Court Says “No Way” To 50 Cent’s Battle Over Skill House
From Rent to Rights: Building a Solid Lease Abstract
Protect Yourself and Your Business with Indemnification Understanding
Nonprofit Basics: Grant Agreements—Matching Grants, IP, Recoverable Grants & More
Nonprofit Basics: Grant Agreement Best Practices
What’s in Your Operating Agreement? Legal Tips for Healthcare Providers
Money-Saving Licensing Tips for Startups
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Expert or Arbitrator? — PE Pathways Podcast
The Briefing: Who Owns Jack Nicklaus? Lessons for The Creator Economy From a Brand Battle
Podcast - A Comparative Guide to Obtaining an FCL: DCSA vs. the Intelligence Community
Strategies for Business Resilience in Uncertain Times
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5 Key Takeaways | Artificial Intelligence: What Tax Professionals Need to Know
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: How to Use the Restatement of Consumer Contracts - A Guide for Judges
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Ways Organizations Can Pursue Legal Collections
Navigating Executive Orders: Strategies for Managing Stop Work Orders and Terminations
Trade Secrets in Hollywood: Lessons from Oscar-Nominated Films - Employment Law This Week® - Spilling Secrets Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing – Creator Contract Liability When Your Platform Disappears: The TikTok Ban
The Nevada District Court recently clarified that the business judgment rule — a fundamental corporate law protection — applies to limited liability companies when their operating agreements specify fiduciary duties. The...more
While entity distinctness is a bedrock principle of corporate law, it may often appear redundant and unnecessary for a limited liability company (“LLC”) to sign its own operating agreement. That was likely the thinking of the...more
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
Folks who’ve been following this blog for years know that periodically I like to venture beyond New York’s borders to find and report on interesting decisions from other states in business divorce cases....more
Last week, the Manhattan-based Appellate Division, First Department, handed down one of the more intriguing decisions by a New York court I’ve seen in a long time involving a dispute between LLC members....more
In my business divorce practice I deal with many closely held corporations that have only a few or perhaps just two shareholders, each of whom is actively involved in running the business. Within that category are many...more
One need not peruse the pages of this blog for long to learn that its authors strongly advise against entering into an owners’ agreement that calls on the members to “annually” (or worse, “regularly”) update a critical aspect...more
The owners’ agreement is the backbone of the closely-held business. In intracompany LLC disputes, few things are more important than what the operating agreement has to say on the subject. As a consequence, the pages of...more
It’s a bit of a stretch to suggest that King Solomon prophesied the standard for judicial dissolution of LLCs, but there it is: under New York’s judicially construed standard for involuntary dissolution under Section 702 of...more
If an LLC’s Operating Agreement contains a sufficiently broad arbitration clause, most disputes raised by the LLC’s members relating to the LLC will be sent to arbitration (instead of the court system) for resolution. But...more
Two principles often guide courts’ interpretation and enforcement of contracts. First, courts respect parties’ freedom of contract, mostly. So long as an agreement is not illegal or violative of a strong public policy,...more
“Except as provided in the operating agreement. . . ” - By my count, this phrase and its close relative, “unless otherwise provided in the operating agreement,” appear 59 times in New York’s LLC Law, most often to...more
Appearances can be deceiving. - That, essentially, was the argument made in two recently decided cases involving claims for judicial dissolution. ...more
The harried realities of modern life are such that business entity organizational documents, like LLC operating agreements, sometimes do not get drafted or executed until long after the entity’s initial formation with the...more
LLC managers owe fiduciary duties both to the LLC and to the LLC’s members, similar to the duties owed by a partner to other partners in a partnership. (Corp Code §17704.09.) These include the duty of loyalty, care, and...more
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
Under both New York and Delaware law, members of an LLC may petition for judicial dissolution on the grounds that the management is so hopelessly deadlocked that the LLC can no longer function in accordance with its purpose...more
One of the more attractive features of LLCs as a business organization is that they are, in large part, creatures of contract. Most provisions in the NY LLC Law are default rules, and members are free to adopt those or...more
I get asked this question all the time. Why do I need an Operating Agreement? To keep your Limited Liability Company (LLC) in good standing, there’s one very important document you should have - an Operating Agreement....more
Oral agreements – and oral modifications of written agreements – are a constant source of litigation in business divorce cases. Alleged oral agreements are subject to attack based upon legal enforceability – as well as their...more
Shareholder agreements and operating agreements contain a variety of knobs and levers, many of which a company’s founders hope never to invoke. Chief among them are the provisions for resolving disputes or deadlocks in...more
Entrepreneurs launching new companies today take on a significant gamble, because statistics show that roughly 30% of all new start-ups fail within two years, and only half survive for a full five years. Many businesses fail...more