Derivative Actions

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In the wild west of LLC derivative lawsuits, the First Department’s recent decision in Bd. of Managers of 28 Cliff St. Condominium v Maguire, 2020 NY Slip Op 06844 [1st Dept Nov. 19, 2020] offers—albeit indirectly—an additional foothold for a successful plaintiff to assert his right to recover his fees from an award in favor of the LLC.…
Continue Reading Fee Sharing in LLC Derivative Suits: A Common Law Right and a One Way Street 

This week’s New York Business Divorce compares two cases of closely-held business owner withdrawal, one involving an LLC, the other a general partnership, one resulting in a right to an accounting, the other not. Why the difference? Read on to find out.…
Continue Reading Two Entities, Two Outcomes: Withdrawal and the Right to an Accounting

The months-long shutdown of New York courts due to the COVID-19 pandemic did not stop the judges of the Manhattan Commercial Division from issuing a number of noteworthy decisions in business divorce cases. This week’s New York Business Divorce highlights three of them. …
Continue Reading A Trio of Recent Business Divorce Decisions by Manhattan Commercial Division Judges

In this week’s New York Business Divorce, we consider a remarkably thoughtful opinion by Commercial Division Justice Jennifer G. Schecter containing some noteworthy hints about the future of LLC dissolution claims in light of the coronavirus pandemic and its catastrophic economic impact on New York closely-held businesses.…
Continue Reading Will the Pandemic Be a Boon for Future LLC Dissolution Claimants?

In this week’s New York Business Divorce, we consider a thoughtful decision from Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Andrea J. Masley about the rules for pleading pre-suit demand or demand futility upon a “liquidator” appointed to wind up the affairs of the corporation, including the rarely-litigated concept that allegations of pre-suit demand or demand futility can potentially “relate back” to a prior pleading that is “validly in litigation.”…
Continue Reading The Pre-Suit Demand Requirement for a Corporation in Liquidation or Receivership

Shapiro v Ettenson, known as the case that made it extra dangerous for minority members of New York LLCs without written operating agreements, reappears in this week’s New York Business Divorce on the occasion of a recent decision concerning member expulsion. …
Continue Reading The Curious Case of the Expelled LLC Member Bound by Operating Agreement He Never Signed