Eagle Force v. Campbell, decided earlier this month by the Delaware Chancery Court, is a fascinating cautionary tale of the perils of signing and then trying to enforce incomplete business formation agreements. Get the story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Don’t Let the Deal Get Ahead of the Documents

Business Divorce Stories is the title of the latest episode of the Business Divorce Roundtable podcast highlighted in this week’s post, featuring short interviews with business appraiser Tony Cotrupe and attorney Jeffrey Eilender sharing their first-hand accounts of business divorce cases involving break-ups of two businesses, each co-owned by a pair of brothers. …
Continue Reading Business Divorce Stories: Podcast Interviews with Business Appraiser Tony Cotrupe and Attorney Jeffrey Eilender

This 7th annual edition of Summer Shorts presents brief commentary on three must-read decisions in business divorce cases involving the use of special litigation committees in derivative actions by LLC members; dissolution of a family-owned real estate holding corporation and LLC; and a Delaware case in which Chancery Court ordered dissolution of a deadlocked LLC co-owned by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. …
Continue Reading Summer Shorts: Three Must-Read Decisions

Did the Appellate Division, Second Department, throw us a curve ball in its decision last week in Mace v. Tunick, reinstating an LLC dissolution complaint based on its finding that the operating agreement’s purpose clause, authorizing the LLC to engage in “any lawful business,” did not set forth “any particular purpose”? Learn more about this important development in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading Does Your LLC Agreement Have a Purposeless Purpose Clause?

Minority shareholder oppression on steroids is one way to describe what happened in Matter of Twin Bay Village, Inc., in which an upstate appellate panel recently affirmed an order dissolving the corporation and setting aside a stock issuance that diluted the minority shareholders. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading And the Award For Most Oppressive Conduct By a Majority Shareholder Goes to . . .

This week’s New York Business Divorce features a recent decision in which the court addressed novel issues — and found guidance in Delaware case law — in a shareholder derivative action challenging compensation packages given to officer/directors.
Continue Reading Navigating Rocky Shoals and Safe Harbors When Board Members Fix Their Own Compensation

This week’s New York Business Divorce looks at a noteworthy decision by Manhattan Commercial Division Justice O. Peter Sherwood in which he dismissed claims by a minority member of Delaware LLCs for inspection of books and records. …
Continue Reading Books and Records Case Illustrates Crucial Importance of Pre-Suit Demand

It’s common practice to convert old realty-holding general partnerships to LLCs for financing and liability purposes. Given that partnerships and LLCs are distinct entity forms governed by distinct statutes, can a pre-conversion partnership agreement nonetheless be enforced among the post-conversion LLC members? Find out in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading It’s a Partnership! No, It’s an LLC! No, It’s Both!

This week’s New York Business Divorce previews and links to the latest podcast episode of the Business Divorce Roundtable featuring an interview with retired Commercial Division Justice Carolyn Demarest in which we discuss the litigation and mediation of business divorce cases.
Continue Reading Interview With Justice Carolyn Demarest (Ret.) on Litigating and Mediating Business Divorce Cases