Derivative Actions

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In this week’s New York Business Divorce, read about a recent appeals court decision in which an elderly male business founder alleged he was ousted from the company and his reputation smeared based upon false allegations of sexual harassment allegedly solicited by a hostile male CEO. Do these allegations equate to a viable claim for breach of fiduciary duty against the CEO? Find out in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading #MeToo and Business Divorce: The Flip Side

In this week’s New York Business Divorce, read about the history and development of the doctrine of tax estoppel, including two strands of competing case law emanating from a pair of New York State Court of Appeals decisions reaching opposite conclusions about the extent to which one may prove ownership status in a closely-held business based upon estoppel.…
Continue Reading The Doctrine of Tax Estoppel in Ownership Status Disputes

A decision last week by the Appellate Division, First Department, highlights the relatively precarious position of LLC minority members versus minority shareholders of close corporations when it comes to seeking remedies for alleged abuse by the LLC’s controlling member. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.…
Continue Reading The Money’s There But Out of Reach for the Minority LLC Member

Can the federal statute that brought down John Gotti also play a role in business divorce litigation? This week’s New York Business Divorce looks at the sparse and largely if not entirely unsuccessful role the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act a/k/a RICO has played in litigation between co-owners of closely held firms.…
Continue Reading Civil RICO: A Blunt But Elusive Tool in Business Divorce Cases

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?