2014

Can real property titled in the names of individuals be deemed partnership property? That’s the question recently answered by Justice Carolyn Demarest in Sokolowski v. Wodkiewicz, a case involving competing claims by the estate of a deceased property owner and the surviving co-owners who asserted the right to purchase the estate’s interest. This week’s New York Business Divorce has the story.
Continue Reading Court Determines Realty is Partnership Asset in Dispute Between Surviving Partner and Estate

The Appellate Division’s landmark ruling in the 1545 Ocean Avenue case sharply demarcated the different statutes and different grounds available for judicial dissolution of LLCs and closely held corporations. So why, in a recent trial court decision, did the court grant judicial dissolution of an LLC under both the LLC Law and the Business Corporation Law? This week’s New York Business Divorce explains. …
Continue Reading Did Anyone Tell the Judge the Business Corporation Law Doesn’t Apply to LLC Dissolution?

An unusual set of facts, involving the termination of a shareholder’s employment following his criminal conviction, set the stage for last week’s appellate ruling requiring the redemption of his shares notwithstanding the company’s noncompliance with certain time limitations governing the exercise of its purchase option. Get the full story in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading Stockholder Fired, Forced to Sell Shares After Felony Conviction

Justice Carolyn Demarest issued a noteworthy decision this month in Camuso v. Brooklyn Portfolio LLC, in which she resolved a three-way dispute over the transfer of a general and limited partnership interest as part of a divorce settlement. Get the full story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Divorce Settlement, Tax Returns Trump Partnership Agreement’s Transfer Restrictions

A must-read decision last week by Justice Elizabeth Emerson in Federico v Brancato highlights the unique attributes and challenges of resolving conflicts within family-owned businesses. You won’t want to miss it in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading When Parents Have to Choose: Succession Planning and the Family-Owned Business

This week’s New York Business Divorce features an important decision last month by Justice Vito DeStefano in which he upheld a claim for advancement of legal fees incurred by a close corporation minority shareholder, director and former officer, who initiated suit against the controlling shareholder, in defending counterclaims asserted in the name and right of the company. …
Continue Reading Court Upholds Former Officer’s Right to Seek Indemnity and Advancement in Intra-Company Dispute