News & Analysis as of

Fiduciary Duty Business Disputes

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

Another LLC Attorney Disqualified Due to “Conflict of Authority”

A prior LLC Jungle post covered the Court of Appeal’s seminal opinion in the Jarvis v. Jarvis case here: Why Having “Co-Managers” for Your LLC is a Terrible Idea. In the Jarvis case, the Court of Appeal affirmed the...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Texas LLCs, Corporations: Act Now to Secure New Business Protections from 2025 Legislative Reforms

Hendershot Cowart P.C. on

Major changes to Texas Business Organizations Code enacted during this summer’s legislative session provide unprecedented protection for management decisions and business disputes – but only if you amend your governing...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Capital Call Cancelled: A Fairness Defense to the Majority’s Mandatory Capital Call

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

There is perhaps no provision in an LLC operating agreement more susceptible to abuse than one allowing those in control of the LLC to make mandatory capital calls. For one, that authority often comes with very few...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

The Robins Kaplan Spotlight, Vol. 10 No. 2 - June 2025

Robins Kaplan LLP on

The Spotlight strives to provide a forum to discuss the latest news and compelling issues impacting fiduciaries and those to whom fiduciaries owe duties. Whether you are an officer, director, trustee, beneficiary, trust...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Bless This Mess: New York Court Shuts Down Attempted Early Ouster of Restauranteur From Managing His Own Restaurant

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

It is not uncommon in the restaurant business for a restauranteur to partner with a silent-partner investor, i.e. the money guy. It’s not uncommon for the restaurant partners to fight over the control of the restaurant....more

DarrowEverett LLP

Fiduciary Duties and Remedies in Florida LLCs: What Members Need to Know

DarrowEverett LLP on

Disputes among members of a limited liability company (LLC) are inevitable. Unlike casual disagreements with friends or roommates, conflicts within an LLC can have legal and financial consequences. Recognizing this reality,...more

Morris James LLP

Chancery Holds Defendant Breached Fiduciary Duties by Failing to Distribute Assets Equally During Dissolution of LLC

Morris James LLP on

Mehra v. Teller, C.A. No. 2019-0812-KSJM (Del. Ch. Sept. 20, 2024) - In this post-trial decision, the plaintiffs claimed that one of the defendants breached his fiduciary duties by failing to distribute assets equally at...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

A New York Partnership?

Robins Kaplan LLP on

In determining whether parties are, in fact, in a partnership depends on the conduct of the parties. Titles, labels, and disclaimers are often meaningless. Consider this scenario: In a New York City bar, two successful...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

DarrowEverett LLP

LLC's Failure to Execute Operating Agreement Opens Legal Trapdoor

DarrowEverett LLP on

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

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Robson & Robson, P.C.

What happens when a majority owner makes a bad-faith capital call?

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

I focus my practice on commercial litigation and in particular on representing business owners in disputes with their business partners. As part of my job I get to see a whole variety of ways that business people attempt to...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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.

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

Allen Matkins

Court Finds Usurpation Of LLC Opportunity To Be Derivative

Allen Matkins on

My last few posts have been devoted to the Court of Appeal's opinion in Tuli v. Specialty Surgical Center of Thousand Oaks, LLC, 2024 WL 4499271 (Oct. 16, 2024).  The case relates to the plaintiff's "decade-long litigation...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Corporate Dissolution Petition Hits Back Burner in Favor of Earlier Filed Claims for Money Damages

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The shareholder oppression claim under BCL 1104-a has a unique relationship with claims for money damages. A minority shareholder petitioning for dissolution under BCL 1104-a must establish that the majority shareholders...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Enforcing the Guardrails on Transactions Involving Interested Directors of Close Corporations

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Gray Reed

A Breach of Fiduciary Duty in the Oil Patch

Gray Reed on

Antero Resources Corp. v. C & R Downhole Drilling, Inc. et al, proves again the extreme risk when one bites the hand that feeds him (shoutout to Greek poet Sappho, 600 BCE). Antero sued former employee Kawsak and his...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The First State Defines the Scope of Majority Shareholder Fiduciary Duties

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

More often than not, the centerpiece of an intra-owner business dispute is a claim that those in control of the business breached their fiduciary duties to the company or the minority owners.  While often easy to assert, the...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Delaware Court of Chancery Clarifies Fiduciary Limitations on Controlling Stockholder's Exercise of Voting Power

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In a landmark decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery addressed, for the first time, the precise duties that a controlling stockholder owes, and the standard of review that will apply, when a controlling stockholder takes...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Parallel Business and Matrimonial Divorce Proceedings

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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.

Where’s the Beef? Causation and Culpability Are Fatal Pitfalls in Zaycon Foods Lawsuit

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

When representing an aggrieved plaintiff in a commercial matter, there are certain business torts that I tend to rely on more heavily than others.  If business torts were foods, for example, a claim like breach of contract...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Potent Combo: Misappropriation of Corporate Opportunity Meets Faithless Servant

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Misappropriation of corporate opportunity is one of our favorite, most frequently blogged topics on New York Business Divorce. A special kind of breach of fiduciary duty, the corporate opportunity doctrine holds that...more

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