In Shao v. Li, decided last week by Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Charles Ramos, the court analyzed a claim by one LLC member that his co-members entered into a sham collateral assignment of a membership interest designed to circumvent a right of first refusal. You won’t want to miss it in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Fighting for Home Court Advantage in Multi-State Business Divorce Litigation
What happens when feuding business partners bring competing lawsuits against each other, including a dissolution proceeding, in different courts in different states? That’s the question addressed in a recent decision by Suffolk County Commercial Division Justice Elizabeth Emerson in Picarella v. HMA Properties, LLC, highlighted in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
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Unanimous Vote Requirement in LLC Agreement Turns on Meaning of “Commitment”
If you’re going to require super-majority consent as to certain business decisions in a shareholder or operating agreement, be sure to draft clearly so as to leave no room for potential litigation over the level of required consent. That’s the lesson of Herbert v Schodack Exit Ten, LLC, decided earlier this month by an upstate appellate panel and highlighted in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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What Law Applies When Internal Affairs Doctrine Clashes With Choice-of-Law Clause?
It happens once in a while: the co-owners of a business entity formed under the laws of State X have a choice of law clause in their agreement opting to be governed by the laws of State Y. Such was the case in Gelman v. Gelman, recently decided by Justice Daniel Palmieri involving a dispute between sibling co-members of a Delaware LLC whose operating agreement had a New York choice of law provision. Which state’s law did the court apply? Get the answer in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Whose Lawsuit Is It Anyway?
A recent decision by Westchester Commercial Division Justice Alan D. Scheinkman in Briarcliff Solutions Holdings, LLC v. Fifth Third Bank (Chicago) takes the spotlight in this week’s New York Business Divorce, featuring a battle for control of the company’s Board of Directors and, ultimately, control of a lawsuit asserting claims against one ownership faction. Don’t miss it. …
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Who Wants to Be a Minority Shareholder of a Delaware Closely-Held Corporation?
For a variety of reasons, many closely-held corporations in New York and elsewhere choose to incorporate in Delaware. A Delaware Chancery Court decision last week, in Blaustein v. Lord Baltimore Capital Corp., serves as a good reminder of the perils of Delaware incorporation to minority shareholders. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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For Sale: Undocumented LLC Membership Interest. Cheap.
This week’s New York Business Divorce, highlighting a recent appellate ruling in Born to Build, LLC v. 1141 Realty, LLC, tells an unusual tale about an ultimately unsuccessful effort to dissolve a limited liability company by someone who claimed to have acquired through judgment enforcement proceedings a debtor’s undocumented membership interest in the LLC. …
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Appellate Court Orders Equitable Buy-Out in LLC Dissolution Case
A decision last week by the Appellate Division, Second Department, in Mizrahi v. Cohen ordered a buy-out of a 50% LLC member by the other 50% member as an equitable remedy in lieu of a winding-up and liquidation of the LLC’s assets. Read about this important decision in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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“But I Did Nothing Wrong!” No Defense to Involuntary Dissociation of LLC Member
A recent New Jersey appellate ruling upheld the expulsion of an LLC member whose conduct, even if not wrongful, almost caused the collapse of the business involving an overseas medical school. Read more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Is Exclusion from LLC Enough for Dissolution?
In contrast to close corporations, the freeze-out of an LLC’s minority member, without more, does not suffice to plead a valid claim for judicial dissolution, according to an appellate ruling earlier this month in Doyle v. Icon, LLC. It’s in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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