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Shareholders Contract Terms Business Divorce

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: Accepting PE Investments May Create Unforeseen Problems for Private Company Majority Owners

As private companies grow, they need to secure capital to support their efforts to provide more (and/or better) products and services to their clients. The need for emerging companies to obtain growth capital often leads 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

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

Lathrop GPM

The Importance of a Buy-Sell Agreement for Business Owners

Lathrop GPM on

If you are the owner of a business that does not have a buy-sell agreement in place, or you have not reviewed your buy-sell agreement recently, it may be time to sit down with your attorney. Buy-sell agreements can be complex...more

Marshall Dennehey

Superior Court: Yes, We Actually Mean Actual Authority for an Actual Settlement of a Civil Case

Marshall Dennehey on

Driscoll and King were partners in a venture operating a restaurant. Their relationship soured, and so as not to sour matters for their customers, they sought to separate amicably. The deal was to be that King would buy out...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

First Department Recognizes Cause of Action for Specific Performance of LLC Member Voting Agreement

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In 1941, two of the three shareholders of Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. entered into an agreement stating that they would vote their combined 630 of the outstanding 1000 shares of Ringling Bros. stock...more

Winstead PC

Litigating Minority Shareholder Rights - Presentation

Winstead PC on

David F. Johnson presented his paper “Business Divorce: Minority Shareholder Rights In Texas” to the State Bar of Texas’s Business Disputes Course on September 2-3, 2021. This presentation addressed shareholder oppression...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: Business Divorce Cases From Across the Country

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Welcome to this 11th annual edition of Summer Shorts! This year’s edition features brief commentary on half a dozen business divorce cases of interest from across the country. ...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

When It Comes to Transfers of Ownership Interests, Where There’s a Will There’s Not Always a Way

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

My partner Frank McRoberts recently posted about two New York cases, one involving an LLC and the other a close corporation, in which the courts resolved conflicts between, on the one hand, provision in the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Who Decides Disputed Valuation Under LLC Agreement’s Buy-Out Provision: Arbitrator or Appraiser?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

It’s not unusual to find buy-out provisions in shareholder and operating agreements that commit the pricing of the buy-out to the “final and binding” determination of one or more appraisers. The same agreements also may...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Enforceability of Oral Operating, Shareholder, and Partnership Agreements

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: Partnership Appraisal and Other Recent Decisions of Interest

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The dog days of August are upon us, a perfect time as I do each year to offer vacationing readers some lighter fare consisting of summaries of a few recent decisions of interest involving disputes between business co-owners....more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Lessons From a Trio of Dysfunctional Buy-Sell Agreements

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Three recent court decisions from three different states — New York, Pennsylvania, and Alabama — add to the rogue’s gallery of valuation cases stemming from poorly conceived and/or poorly implemented buy-sell agreements among...more

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