Episode 23: LLCs as They Approach the 50-Year Milestone: A Conversation with Professor Susan Pace Hamill
Investment Management Update – Exit Strategies
Episode 014: Business Divorce Stories: Business Appraiser Tony Cotrupe and Attorney Jeff Eilender
Episode 8: Minority Oppression in the LLC: Interview With Professor Douglas Moll
Episode 10: The Marketability Discount Revisited: Interview with Greg Barber
How often do hopeful beneficiaries of a last will and testament expect to receive what they think will be a valuable bequest of a business interest, only to find their joy turn to despair when they discover the bequest...more
“Under any standard of value, the true economic value of a business enterprise will equal the company’s accounting book value only by coincidence . . .” says the late business valuation expert and author Shannon Pratt. So...more
In matters of corporate divorce, deadlock, majority oppression, or usurpation of corporate opportunities are all well-tread grounds for disputes between co-owners of closely held entities. These disputes often culminate in...more
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
Potential client sits down with business divorce lawyer and says, “I’m a minority shareholder in XYZ Corp. I’ve been completely frozen out by the majority. Can you help me?” The lawyer says, “Absolutely. New York law gives...more
It may be a reflection of summer’s lazy days or a simmering frustration that has built up over time, but it is not uncommon for a majority owner or a minority investor in a private company to decide the time has come to...more
Nine months ago, we wrote about a 20% shareholder, Alvin Clayton Fernandes, whose bare bones petition Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Frank P. Nervo found stated sufficient grounds to judicially dissolve a seemingly...more
This blog frequently covers cases considering a shareholder’s request to dissolve a corporation under New York’s oppression-based corporate dissolution statute, BCL 1104-a. That statute allows a shareholder to petition for...more
This episode features an interview with Professor Susan Pace Hamill, a leading authority and commentator on the origins and evolution of the limited liability company. We talk about her latest law review article entitled Some...more
Valuation discounts can and often do play an outsized role in contested appraisal proceedings involving the valuation of equity interests in closely held business entities for which there is no public market....more
Business divorce can be messy, as reflected by many of the cases covered here at The LLC Jungle. Two issues that frequently arise during the dissolution of an LLC are: 1. the statutory buyout procedure, and 2. claims for...more
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
The New York Court of Appeals’ 2012 opinion in Pappas v Tzolis, decided in the wake and spirit of that court’s rulings the year before in the Centro Empresarial v America Movil and Arfa v Zamir cases, raised the bar for...more
I’m very pleased to present my 13th annual list of the past year’s ten most significant business divorce cases. This year’s list includes important appellate and trial court decisions in New York and Delaware on a...more
As we have noted in previous posts, it can become critical for the majority owner of a private company to remove a business partner who holds a minority ownership stake in the business and who is causing major dysfunction in...more
There’s tremendous diversity from state-to-state when it comes to statutory and judge-made law in business divorce cases. The basic fact patterns one sees in cases from across the country, however, don’t vary nearly as much....more
With apologies to the King James Bible, what the Manhattan real estate market giveth, a poorly conceived partnership agreement taketh away. It’s the best explanation I can offer for three successive lawsuits lasting almost...more
The global coronavirus pandemic is of course a challenging time. Many businesses have been hard hit and may not recover. Unemployment has skyrocketed. On the other hand, there are many businesses that have been only mildly...more
Article 12 of New York’s Limited Liability Company Law authorizes the formation of professional service limited liability companies (PLLC). Eligible professions include lawyers, medical doctors, accountants, architects, and...more
I was especially drawn to the case I’m about to introduce involving LLC member withdrawal, owing to the Jacobs v Cartalemi case that I litigated to a successful conclusion about two years ago, also involving member...more
In my business divorce travels occasionally I encounter instances in which shareholder distributions are made in the period between the valuation date for an elective buyout of a minority shareholder who sued for dissolution...more
The nationwide landscape of statutes and case law governing judicial dissolution of limited liability companies exhibits more state-to-state similarity than dissimilarity....more
It’s that time of year again, when I offer some lighter fare for poolside consumption consisting of summaries of a few recent decisions of interest involving disputes between business co-owners....more
Over the years, we’ve written a lot about limited partnership, corporation, and LLC “fair value” appraisal proceedings....more
When one partner or members seeks the dissolution of a California limited partnership or limited liability company, the other partners or members may keep the LP or LLC alive by purchasing, for cash, the interests owned by...more