Getting sued by your client’s adversary is an occasional occupational hazard for attorneys in any field, but perhaps more so for attorneys who represent closely held companies that fall into the business divorce maelstrom, as evidenced by Nassau County Justice Denise Sher’s recent decision in Aranki v. Goldman & Associates. It’s in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Court Sends Everyone Home Empty Handed in Bitter Business Breakup
This week’s New York Business Divorce features an interesting decision by Commercial Division Justice Emily Pines in Nastasi v. Carlino, where she sent both sides home empty handed in a bitter shareholder dispute with misconduct on both sides.
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Chris Mercer Tackles Statutory Fair Value
Chris Mercer, one of the country’s leading authorities on business valuation, has written a series of important and helpful articles on the statutory fair value standard used by courts in dissenting shareholder appraisals and oppressed minority shareholder buy-out proceedings. Get a taste in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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New Decisions of Interest by Nassau County’s Commercial Division Judges
This week’s New York Business Divorce highlights the contributions of the Nassau County Commercial Division Justices Stephen Bucaria, Ira Warshawsky and Timothy Driscoll to the body of business divorce case law, also featuring three of their recent decisions.
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Dissecting the Order to Show Cause in Corporate Dissolution Proceedings
The order to show cause is a critical document drafted by the petitioner’s counsel for signature by the judge when initiating a corporate dissolution proceeding. This week’s New York Business Divorce offers a drafting primer using some illustrative forms.
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Court Decision Weds Business Divorce with Matrimonial Divorce
In a rare intersection of matrimonial and business divorce, last week the Appellate Division, Third Department, upheld the dismissal of an LLC dissolution proceeding brought by one spouse on the ground it was superseded by the other spouse’s prior-filed divorce action. But wait a minute; how can the court simply disregard the LLC as a separate entity? Read more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Disqualification of Counsel in Business Divorce Proceedings
The rough and tumble of business divorce meets attorney ethics in this week’s New York Business Divorce which highlights a pair of decisions by Justices Elizabeth H. Emerson and Timothy S. Driscoll involving the issue of attorney disqualification in judicial dissolution proceedings of closely held businesses.
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Attention All Would-Be Corporate Dissolution Petitioners: Notice Pleading Doesn’t Cut It. You Need to Allege Facts. Lots of Them.
Unlike regular lawsuits that can be initiated with a notice pleading, a petition for involuntary corporate dissolution must contain detailed factual allegations supported by any available documentary evidence to establish the requisite grounds, be they oppressive action, fraud, waste and looting, or deadlock. A recent decision by Nassau County Commercial Division Justice Timothy S. Driscoll in Matter of Comparato illustrates the dire consequences of a petition that relies solely on conclusory allegations of misconduct. It’s in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Attention All Would-Be Corporate Dissolution Petitioners: Notice Pleading Doesn’t Cut It. You Need to Allege Facts. Lots of Them.
Termination of Operating Agreement Triggers LLC Dissolution
Can an LLC continue its existence after a member exercises the right to terminate the operating agreement? Justice Stephen A. Bucaria’s recent decision in Matter of Fassa answers the question, as explained in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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The Emerging Influence of 1545 Ocean Avenue on Judicial Dissolution of LLCs
The Appellate Division, Second Department’s breakthrough decision in the 1545 Ocean Avenue case, in which the court redefined the standard for judicial dissolution of LLCs, recently marked its one-year anniversary. This week’s New York Business Divorce looks at several recent trial court decisions by Justices Warshawsky, Strauss and Pines in LLC dissolution cases to see how the new standard has fared.
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