In a first impression ruling, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld an LLC member’s derivative right to defend litigation brought against the LLC by one of its other members. Read about it in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading Court Grants 50% LLC Member Derivative Right to Defend Action Brought by Other 50% Member’s Solely Owned Company

Derivative actions brought by LLC members take the spotlight for the second week in a row, this time featuring a pair of noteworthy decisions involving Delaware and Nevada LLCs in which the defendants argued that the plaintiff’s right to sue derivatively was waived by the operating agreement. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading Can LLC Agreement Waive Right to Sue Derivatively? Not in These Two Cases

It’s brother against brother in the case featured in this week’s New York Business Divorce, in which the court dismissed a petition to dissolve a real estate holding company based on alleged withholding of company information. …
Continue Reading Shareholder Oppression Requires More Than Denial of Access to Company Information

New York’s highest court last week handed down its long awaited decision in Congel v Malfitano, in which the court tackled a number of highly important issues affecting partnership dissolution and valuation cases. Get the full story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading New York’s High Court Takes Fresh Approach to Wrongful Dissolution, Sustains Valuation Discounts, Limits Damages in Partnership Case

This week’s New York Business Divorce examines an interesting appellate ruling from Colorado denying enforcement of a non-compete against a shareholder-employee of a medical practice who dissented from a merger and demanded payment for the fair value of his shares.
Continue Reading You Dissented From a Merger. Are You Bound by Your Non-Compete?

Are you in business with, or advising a business with, a disruptive minority partner, shareholder, or member? What can you do about it? In this week’s New York Business Divorce we consider one option – the “cash-out” or “freeze-out” merger.
Continue Reading The Cash-Out Merger Solution to the Problem Minority Owner

Last year, in Pokoik v Norsel Realties, the trial court cited the plaintiff’s “litigious nature” and personal animus in dismissing his derivative claims based on conflict of interest. You’ll be interested to learn in this week’s New York Business Divorce that an appellate panel last week reversed the decision and reinstated the claims based on its finding that the parties’ relationship was not “especially acrimonious.”…
Continue Reading Appeals Court Reinstates Derivative Claims Dismissed for Conflict of Interest Where Parties’ Relationship Not “Especially Acrimonious”

50/50 shareholders disagree whether to liquidate the business or continue it. Is that enough for a deadlock dissolution petition? Find out in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading One 50% Shareholder Wants to Sell or Liquidate the Business. The Other Wants to Keep It Going. Is That Deadlock?

The Appellate Division in Shapiro v Ettenson interpreted New York’s LLC Law as permitting the adoption of post-formation LLC operating agreements by majority vote, i.e, without the consent of the minority. This week’s New York Business Divorce focuses on Shapiro’s impact on member expulsion. …
Continue Reading LLC Member Expulsion: What Hath Shapiro Wrought?