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Limited Liability Company (LLC) Fiduciary Duty Business Divorce

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

California Business Divorce: You Might Have to Get a Business Divorce in Delaware Without a Jury

If your company documents require disputes to be litigated in the Delaware Court of Chancery, you may have to resolve your business divorce without a jury trial, even if California law would otherwise guarantee one....more

Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP

When To Seek Judicial Dissolution For Your Restaurant Business

Running a restaurant with business partners can be a rewarding venture, but partnerships don’t always go as planned. Disagreements, financial troubles, and breaches of fiduciary duty can create conflicts so severe that...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: A Trio of Recent Decisions of Interest in LLC Member Disputes

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Welcome to this 15th annual edition of Summer Shorts. This year’s edition features brief commentary on a trio of recent decisions by New York courts in business divorce cases, all involving LLCs, including: A relatively...more

ArentFox Schiff

How Boilerplate Agreement Advancement Clauses Can Transform Ownership Disputes

ArentFox Schiff on

Indemnification and advancement clauses are often seen as mere boilerplate language in a company’s governing documents, routinely copied from one form agreement to another. However, advancement clauses may be important...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

A Message of Acceptance from the Garden State

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

This week’s New York Business Divorce takes us to the Garden State for a delightfully-written, post-trial decision by retired, recalled Appellate Division Judge Clarkson S. Fisher, Jr....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Demand Futility, Dissolution, and Transfer Restrictions: Spring Blooms Fresh Developments in LLC Litigation

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In addition to blooming trees and longer days, spring in New York has ushered in a fresh crop of noteworthy decisions on intra-LLC disputes.  Headliners include a boost to members’ rights to compel an accounting courtesy of...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Business Appraiser Liability? That’s a New One.

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

We’ve written about accountant liability. We’ve written about bookkeeper liability. A carefully crafted complaint can state viable claims for either. But business appraiser liability?...more

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.

LLC Member States Direct Claims Arising from Machiavellian Manager’s Tactical Bankruptcy Petition

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

“There is only going to be one winner here, and it’s not going to be you—give in while there is something still left in it for you,” said one LLC member to the other. With co-owners like that, who needs enemies?...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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Majority Owners Achieving Balance: Incentivizing Employees Without Giving Up the Keys to the Whole Kingdom

Success is not just an elusive goal – it can also be difficult to maintain once achieved. For majority owners in private companies, achieving success is just the first hurdle, because once they arrive at this pinnacle, they...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.

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

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.

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Take the Business Divorce Pop Quiz!

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

It’s been many years since our last pop quiz for all you business divorce aficionados. Time for another. See how many you get right before you read the answers...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.

Do Non-Manager, Minority LLC Owners Owe Fiduciary Duties?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

This important question of whether non-manager, minority limited liability company owners owe fiduciary duties continues to bedevil New York litigants and courts. The prevailing state of the law remains unsettled, with...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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Assigning an Interest in an LLC

One of the goals in a business divorce is finality – ending a business relationship once and for all. But what if the end isn’t really the end?...more

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