Photo of Peter A. Mahler

Peter A. Mahler is a litigator focusing on business divorce cases involving dissolution and other disputes among co-­owners of closely held business entities, such as limited liability companies, corporations, and partnerships. Peter represents both control and non-control owners, often involving family-owned businesses. Frequently counseling business owners prior to litigation, he advises them of their rights and also assists in designing and negotiating an amicable separation between parties. Peter’s counsel helps avoid litigation by means of a buy-out, sale, or division of business assets.

 

 

In its ruling last week in Carr v Global Payments Inc., the Delaware Court of Chancery had to decide whether to reverse its prior order requiring advancement of a former corporate officer’s litigation expenses after the company subsequently amended its complaint in the underlying suit for the precise purpose of avoiding advancement. Find out what happened in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Advance! Amend! Retreat!

Is an LLC a nominal party in dissolution proceedings such that its citizenship can be ignored for purposes of securing diversity jurisdiction in federal court? Get the answer in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading LLCs as Nominal Parties in Dissolution Cases: An Uncertain Portal to Federal Court Jurisdiction

Should the fair value award in a judicial dissolution proceeding, following the respondent’s election to purchase and an appraisal proceeding, be reduced by post-valuation date shareholder distributions? Find out in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Post-Valuation Date Distributions: Should They Be Credited Against Fair Value Awards?

This week’s New York Business Divorce travels to South Dakota whose Supreme Court recently issued a noteworthy decision denying judicial dissolution of a single-asset realty holding LLC that primarily operated a bar and camping facility for only 10 days each year during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Continue Reading Chicken Sh*t Bingo Fans Rejoice: The Dragpipe Saloon Survives a Dissolution Scare

This week’s New York Business Divorce features my latest interview on the Business Divorce Roundtable podcast with Steve Robinson, a Texas lawyer and blogger who employs his experience as a corporate/transactional lawyer to help clients resolve business divorce matters.
Continue Reading A Transactional Lawyer’s Approach to Resolving Business Divorce: Podcast Interview with Steve Robinson

Courtesy of a recent decision by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Leon Ruchelsman, this week’s New York Business Divorce examines a case in which the court dismissed a petition for judicial dissolution of an LLC after finding that the petitioner failed to show he possessed a membership interest.
Continue Reading Court Looks to Partnership Law in Ruling Against Petitioner’s Status as LLC Member

This week’s New York Business Divorce examines a highly interesting appellate opinion in a California case centering on whether the operating agreement required unanimous member approval to remove the designated managing member.
Continue Reading Statute Trumps LLC Agreement’s Voting Rights Provision in Dispute Over Manager’s Removal