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Business Litigation Limited Liability Company (LLC)

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

Allen Matkins

Does Personal Animosity Vitiate The Business Judgment Rule?

Allen Matkins on

Under the business judgment rule, "a director is not liable for a mistaken business judgment which is made in good faith and in what he or she believes to be in the best interest of the corporation, where no conflict of...more

Allen Matkins

The One Where Everyone Got The Statute Wrong

Allen Matkins on

In yesterday's post, I discussed the Court of Appeal's unpublished opinion in Milks v. Affirmed Techs., LLC,  2024 WL 1502944 (Cal. Ct. App. Apr. 5, 2024), reh'g denied (Apr. 30, 2024).  That case involved claims against a...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Recent Appellate Rulings Address Novel Issues in General Partnership Disputes

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The era of the old-fashioned general partnership long ago petered out, largely displaced by subchapter S corporations and, in the last few decades, limited liability companies, both of which allow pass-through taxation...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Conditional Grants of Membership Interests Are a Roadway to Courtroom Conflict

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In the world of business divorce litigation, this summer saw everything but a slowdown.  We witnessed (and blogged about) Justice Crane cap a long-running fair value proceeding with helpful guidance on appraisals and...more

Patton Sullivan Brodehl LLP

LLC Members May Ratify Prior Defective Actions

Actions taken within business entities are sometimes deemed invalid due to procedural defects.  For corporations, section 119 of the Corporations Code establishes a clear procedure by which defective actions can be ratified...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Did Chancery Court Just Crack Open the Door to Equitable Dissolution of LLCs?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Butler Snow LLP

LLCS & Jurisdictional Allegations in the Fifth Circuit: It’s Membership, not Ownership

Butler Snow LLP on

By now, attorneys practicing in the Fifth Circuit should know that if a case is in federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction, they must ensure that the record supports the diversity of citizenship requirement, lest...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Dissolution Undone

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Business divorce and non-judicial (a/k/a voluntary) dissolution of a business entity rarely intersect. But when they do, or even in a non-business divorce setting, if a business owner needs to rescind a certificate of...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Fair Value Decision Caps Decade-Long Dispute Over Family-Owned Real Estate Holding Companies

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

About 40 years ago, a son and his mother first teamed up to invest in purchasing and managing over a dozen buildings in New York through 4 co-owned entities, each owned on a 50/50 basis. Fast forward several decades and the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

It Takes More Than a Litigation Tsunami Between Hostile Members to Obtain Judicial Dissolution of a Realty-Holding LLC

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Count ’em: At the time A sued B for judicial dissolution of one of their several jointly owned companies, there are not one, not two, not three, but eight pending lawsuits between the two 50/50 business partners who first...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Limo Company Shareholders Can't Hitch a Ride in Derivative Litigation

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Closely-held business entities come in all shapes and sizes. By definition, under Partnership Law § 10, it takes “two or more” owners to form a general partnership. But corporations and LLCs have no such impediment, ranging...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Limo Company Shareholders Can’t Hitch a Ride in Derivative Litigation

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Closely-held business entities come in all shapes and sizes. By definition, under Partnership Law § 10, it takes “two or more” owners to form a general partnership. But corporations and LLCs have no such impediment, ranging...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Battle for Company Control Turns on Conflicting Copies of Operating Agreement Amid Accusations of “Old-Fashioned Forgery”

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

“This case (and its many state-court siblings) has a tortured history,” is the opening line in Judge Subramanian’s decision. The “siblings” are five or so related lawsuits filed in New York State Supreme Court beginning in...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Crossing the Hudson: Recent Business Divorce Decisions from Yonder States

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Legal Ramen-ifications of Dissolving a New York LLC Over Noodle Choices

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

The last time we featured a notable decision on a claim for dissolution of a restaurant-operating LLC was in 2017, with a post by Frank McRoberts titled, “LLC’s Purpose Being Achieved?  Business Doing Fine?  Good Luck Getting...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Rare as a Dodo: Bifurcation in Business Divorce Trials

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Jury trials in business divorce litigation are uncommon. Bifurcated business divorce jury trials are all but nonexistent. But in Aronov v Khavinson (81 Misc3d 1242(A) [Sup Ct, Kings County Feb. 9, 2024]), we encounter the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Perils of Indeterminate LLC Membership Interests, Redux

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Capital contributions by business owners are the lifeblood of any newly formed business entity. Typically the lifeblood consists of cash, but not always. In many instances the contribution may consist of tangible (e.g., real...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Direct to Beneficial: Change of Corporate Ownership Structure Yields No Right to Dissent and Seek Appraisal

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

There are many paths to a fair value appraisal proceeding. A road less traveled begins at Section 910 of the Business Corporation Law (the “BCL”). ...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Winter Case Notes: Murder, Forgery, Accidental Death, Oppression, Oh My!

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Welcome to this year’s Winter Case Notes where, amidst the arctic blast currently sweeping most of the nation, I offer shortish takes on several court decisions in recent business divorce cases. This year’s edition...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

Hogan Lovells

Holifield v XRI: Delaware Supreme Court reinforces primacy of freedom of contract for LLC agreements

Hogan Lovells on

In Holifield v. XRI Investment Holdings LLC, No. 407, 2022 (Del. Sept. 7, 2023), the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s determination that the defendant violated XRI Investment Holdings’ LLC agreement when he...more

Allen Barron, Inc.

The Importance of Year-End Corporate Governance Work

Allen Barron, Inc. on

What is the importance of year-end corporate governance work? I know. I can see and hear it now: most businesspeople just roll their eyes and ask, “why do I have to go through this hassle?” What is the purpose of a corporate...more

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

California Business Divorce Blog: Your LLC Can Run, But It Probably Cannot Hide From California Jurisdiction

In some cases, owners of an LLC provide in their Operating Agreements that any disputes involving the LLC or arising out of the Operating Agreement, including a business divorce, must be litigated in a private arbitration...more

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