News & Analysis as of

Operating Agreements Business Divorce Breach of Duty

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.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2024

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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.

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

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.

Enforcing the Guardrails on Transactions Involving Interested Directors of Close Corporations

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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

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.

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.

Never the Twain Shall Meet: Damages Claims Do Not Offset the Purchase Price in Buy-Sell Agreements

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Nestled between Broadway and Church Street in New York City’s hottest neighborhood is the landmarked, stone-façade building at 66-68 Reade Street.  Now marketed as the superluxury boutique condominium complex 66 Reade, the...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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Disguised Agreements and Dissolution

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Appearances can be deceiving. - That, essentially, was the argument made in two recently decided cases involving claims for judicial dissolution. ...more

Gray Reed

Villareal v. Saenz: Fiduciary Duties Will Go On

Gray Reed on

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Court Enjoins Dilution of Brewing Company LLC Membership Interest

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Most folks associate beer with pleasure. Many craft brewers will tell you they went into business for that reason: to make themselves and others happy (and, oh yeah, make money). ...more

Winstead PC

Business Divorce: Exiting Member of LLC May Still Owe Fiduciary Duties

Winstead PC on

In Villareal v. Saenz, two co-owners of a limited liability company sued each other regarding conduct surrounding a business divorce. 5-20-CV-00571-OLG-RBF, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94183 (W.D. Tex. May 18, 2021)....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

“Intentional” Breach of Fiduciary Duty Defeats Operating Agreement’s Exculpatory Clause

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Last week, Peter Mahler blogged about a recent decision holding that a minority shareholder’s claim against its majority co-owners for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a sale of the business to a third party...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Money’s There But Out of Reach for the Minority LLC Member

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Of late I’ve been ruminating on New York’s membership in the shrinking pool of states that don’t recognize oppression of an LLC minority member by the controlling members or managers as ground for judicial dissolution....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Oral Partnership Operating as a Corporation: Is it a Partnership? A Corporation? Can it be Both?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Oral agreements to form and operate business enterprises are a recurring subject of this blog. We’ve written many times, for example, about the comparative ease vis-a-vis other kinds of entities with which one can...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Duty to Disclose Third-Party Offers Amidst Buy-Out Negotiations, Revisited

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In 2011 and 2012, the New York Court of Appeals decided a series of difficult cases addressing the circumstances under which a contractual waiver or release included in a buyout or other agreement between co-owners of closely...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

When an LLC Manager’s “Sole and Absolute Discretion” is Neither Sole Nor Absolute

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If you read most any operating agreement for a manager-managed LLC, chances are you’ll find somewhere in it a grant of decision-making authority in the manager’s “sole and absolute discretion” or verbiage to similar effect....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

LLC Member’s Petition to Dissolve Boxing Club Dealt First Round KO

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In the end, it wasn’t much of a fight. The case of Huggins v Scott, decided last month by Justice W. Franc Perry of the Manhattan Supreme Court, illustrates anew the well-nigh insurmountable hurdle faced by a minority...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Does This Decision Put the Brakes on Non-Unanimous Amendments to Operating Agreements?

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Much digital ink has been spilled on this blog and elsewhere (Tom Rutledge’s terrific article can be read) concerning the ability of LLC controllers to adopt or amend an operating agreement without the consent of all members....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Can LLC Agreement Waive Right to Sue Derivatively? Not in These Two Cases

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Recently, in two separate cases, two New York judges construing two LLC agreements of two LLCs formed under the laws of two different states — Delaware and Nevada — came to the same conclusion when faced with the same...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Business Divorce Nation: Five States, Five Cases

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It’s true that the statutory and common-law rules at play in business divorce cases can vary widely from state to state. But it’s also true that court decisions in one state can influence courts in other states, and can...more

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