News & Analysis as of

Breach of Duty Business Disputes

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

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Texas Business Court Could Make Litigation Faster, More Efficient

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

Texas’ new business court, which the state hopes will make complex litigation more efficient, opens in less than four months. And while there’s still uncertainty about how the court will operate, its structure and the Texas...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

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

Troutman Pepper 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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Bad Things Can Happen When You Steal a Business from a Minority Co-Owner

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Occasionally, we come across court cases in which the majority owners so egregiously mistreated their minority co-owners that it’s difficult not to write about it — if only as a lesson in what not to do to separate oneself as...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

What Is and Isn’t Permissible When Startup Founders Split

The Tel Aviv District Court (Economic Department) recently ruled that a partner in a startup breached his obligations as an officer in the company, as well as other obligations toward his former partner in that company. The...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Eastland Redux: Do Close Corporation Shareholders Have a Direct Claim Against Directors For Taking Disguised Distributions?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Earlier this year, using as a springboard the Maryland intermediate appellate court’s decision in Eastland Food Corp. v Mekhaya, I posted about a topic on which there’s little or no New York law, viz., whether a complaint for...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.

Can One 50% Shareholder Sue the Other in the Company Name on the Company Dollar? Answer: It Depends

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In the menagerie of closely held companies, those owned and controlled by 50/50 business partners pose unique benefits and challenges. On the benefit side, co-equal ownership and control can foster cooperation,...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

The Hazards of 'Weaponizing' Capital Call and Dilution Provisions

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

There are many ways that an owner of a closely-held business can use their superior financial resources to gain an advantage over their co-owners in a dispute. One common way is the use of a capital call provision to dilute...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

Without Equal? Pennsylvania Federal Court Charts New Path, Rules Fiduciary Duty Exists Between 50/50 Co-owners Of A Business

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

There is arguably no more prevalent legal claim in business divorces than a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty. Simply put (and I do mean simply), when one person owes a fiduciary duty to another, the person with the duty...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Faithless Servant in Business Divorce Cases

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Litigants assert with growing frequency “faithless servant” claims in business divorce cases. New York’s faithless servant doctrine, and the legal standards governing faithless servant claims, emanate from two ancient...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

PA. Superior Court Channels Spider-Man: Rules That In Business Partnerships, Great Power Comes With Great Responsibility...

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

Business partnerships are built on the trust and loyalty of their participants. Without mutual coordination and honesty among all involved, tensions will inevitably arise that could derail a partnership’s success. The...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

Payne & Fears

Partnership Betrayals: Breaches of Fiduciary Duty

Payne & Fears on

Part Three of a Series Payne & Fears’ Business Litigation Group helps businesses and their owners with wide-ranging disputes. In our practice, we’ve noticed that in disputes among business partners there are common issues...more

Robson & Robson, P.C.

Pennsylvania’s Alternative Path For Minority Shareholders Who Can’t Pass Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 23.1’s “Adequate...

Robson & Robson, P.C. on

When shareholders of a company believe the leaders of the company have breached their fiduciary duties to it, they can bring a lawsuit against those leaders in one of two ways. Shareholders can bring the suit in their own...more

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Family-Owned Business Divorce: When Litigation is Your Only Remedy

Family-owned businesses can be an optimal means for transferring and preserving family wealth. When the family works cooperatively in their respective best interests to run and manage their businesses and assets efficiently,...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

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