In this week’s New York Business Divorce, read about the exceedingly versatile cause of action of breach of fiduciary duty and the many remedies courts may award upon a finding of breach. This week’s post focuses on two remedies in particular: disgorgement of profits obtained through self-dealing, and recovery of attorneys’ fees when pled derivatively.
Continue Reading The Common-Law Tort of Breach of Fiduciary Duty: The Total Package
Operating Agreement
How to Resolve Competing Estate Plans of an LLC Owner with a Double Life
By Franklin C. McRoberts on
Posted in LLCs, Operating Agreement
Man marries and has a daughter. He executes an operating agreement providing for his wife and daughter to take his LLC interest upon death. But the man has an alleged mistress, who allegedly begets a daughter out of wedlock. The man then executes a will providing for his alleged mistress and out-of-wedlock daughter to take his LLC interest upon death, contrary to the operating agreement. What could go wrong? You can read about this steamy litigation in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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When an LLC Manager’s “Sole and Absolute Discretion” is Neither Sole Nor Absolute
By Peter A. Mahler on
Posted in LLCs, Operating Agreement
Is there such a thing as a contractually-infused, common-law fiduciary duty that can override an LLC manager’s “sole and absolute discretion”? Decide for yourself when you read this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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Turmoil Follows Involuntary Transfers of LLC Membership Interests
By Peter A. Mahler on
The typical dispute among LLC members over membership interest transfers involves voluntary assignments or testamentary dispositions. This week’s New York Business Divorce looks at a pair of cases involving disputes arising from involuntary transfers of membership interests.
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Always Check Provenance Before Taking an Assignment of LLC Interest
By Peter A. Mahler on
The Appellate Division, Second Department’s ruling last month in Berhend v. New Windsor Group, LLC illustrates the disastrous results when care is not taken by the assignee of an LLC interest to determine the validity of the assignor’s interest and the existence of transfer restrictions in the LLC’s operating agreement. Get the full story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
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The Curious Case of the Expelled LLC Member Bound by Operating Agreement He Never Signed
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. …
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A Case of LLC Withdrawal Symptoms
By Peter A. Mahler on
Posted in LLCs, Operating Agreement
This week’s New York Business Divorce highlights an interesting decision by Commercial Division Justice Andrea Masley addressing claims that the minority members of an LLC breached the operating agreement’s anti-withdrawal provisions by demanding a buyout and bringing a damages suit against the managing members.
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Court Takes Ambiguity Off the Menu of Restaurant’s LLC Agreement
By Peter A. Mahler on
Posted in LLCs, Operating Agreement
The restaurant business is tough enough without squabbling between co-owners. This week’s New York Business Divorce examines a recent case in which LLC members had a falling out over the ownership of a restaurant’s trademark and other disputes. …
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LLC Survives Member’s Death. Dissolution Petition Doesn’t.
By Peter A. Mahler on
Last week, the Appellate Division affirmed an order dismissing an unusual LLC dissolution petition based on the death of one of its members — 11 years earlier. Get the full story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading LLC Survives Member’s Death. Dissolution Petition Doesn’t.
Operating Agreement Spawns Multiple Disputes Between 50/50 Members of Realty Holding LLC
By Peter A. Mahler on
Entering its fifth year of litigation featuring two rulings by the Appellate Division in 2017 and last week, the case of Rubin v Baumann is another example of LLCs that suffer from inadequate operating agreements. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
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