This week’s New York Business Divorce features a pair of post-trial decisions by Justice Timothy Dufficy in two cases — one seeking dissolution of an LLC, the other seeking to establish a de facto partnership — both of which involved contested ownership as between two sets of brothers.
Continue Reading A Pair of Unbrotherly Business Altercations Go to Trial

New Jersey’s approach to the marketability discount in statutory fair value cases has been called a “business appraiser’s nightmare.” A recent decision by a New Jersey trial court, in which it applied a 25% marketability discount to penalize a 50% owner found guilty of oppression against the other 50% owner, adds fuel to the debate. Check it out in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Has New Jersey Gone Off Its DLOM Rocker?

It’s time for another deep dive into fair value jurisprudence, courtesy of Justice Richard Platkin’s recent decision in the Digeser v. Flach case in which he addresses a number of valuation issues contested by the opposing business appraisal experts. Don’t miss it in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Business Appraisers Spar Over Tax Rates, Market Approach and Other Key Issues in Fair Value Buy-Out Case

This week’s New York Business Divorce highlights an appellate opinion affirming a lower court’s findings of grounds for dissolution in a “classic” case of minority shareholder oppression.
Continue Reading An Oppression How-To: Revoke Employment, Profit Sharing and Control

Buy-out and retirement obligations in professional practices can trigger a contentious race to be the first to resign or retire when hard financial times hit, which is what happened in the case highlighted in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Race to the Exit as Professional Practice Falters

This week’s New York Business Divorce offers its annual Winter Case Notes with synopses of four recent decisions by Supreme Court Justices Elizabeth Emerson, Stephen Bucaria, and Charles Ramos in cases involving partnership, close corporation, and LLC disputes.
Continue Reading Winter Case Notes: De Facto Partnership and Other Recent Decisions of Interest

Few recent cases in the business divorce field are as important as last week’s appellate affirmance in the Shapiro case, allowing majority LLC members to adopt an operating agreement that binds non-signatory minority members. Get the story in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Thinking About Becoming a Minority Member of a New York LLC Without an Operating Agreement? Think Again

The case featured in this week’s New York Business Divorce illustrates the havoc that can follow when company owners create inconsistent ownership records for purposes of deceiving government agencies.
Continue Reading Operating Agreement Trumps Falsified Liquor License Application In Dispute Over LLC Membership