This 6th annual edition of Summer Shorts presents brief commentary on three decisions of interest in business divorce cases, including a dispute among LLP partners over the reduction of one partner’s interest; disqualification of counsel in an LLC dissolution case; and a Delaware books-and-records case involving phantom stock. …
Continue Reading Summer Shorts: Partnership Interest Reduction and Other Recent Decisions of Interest

This week’s New York Business Divorce serves up a provocative article by, and an informative podcast interview with, Kentucky lawyer Tom Rutledge, a leading expert on closely held business entities, on the hot-button topic of LLC member expulsion.
Continue Reading Tom Rutledge Takes on LLC Member Expulsion

Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Anil Singh’s recent decision in Saleeby v Remco Maintenance teaches some valuable lessons about how not to draft stock or membership interest redemption provisions in executive employment agreements. It’s in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading Good Faith Trumps Sole Discretion in LLC Agreement’s Repurchase Provision

The New Jersey Supreme Court last week issued an important decision tightening the criteria for judicial expulsion of an LLC member. Get the story in this week’s New York Business Divorce. …
Continue Reading New Jersey Supreme Court Raises the Bar for Judicial Expulsion of LLC Members

Justice Saliann Scarpulla’s recent decision in MFB Realty LLC v Eichner highlights statutory and contractual restrictions surrounding the scope of the rights transferred when LLC interests are assigned. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading Operating Agreement’s Two-Step Consent Provision Foils Assignment of LLC Member Interest

The Delaware Court of Chancery plays an outsized role not only in the public company arena, but also in the field of business divorce and other disputes among co-owners of closely held corporations, partnerships, and LLCs. This week’s New York Business Divorce sets the stage and invites you to listen to a podcast interview of Delaware lawyers Kurt Heyman and Pete Ladig discussing litigation of business divorce cases in the Delaware Chancery Court.
Continue Reading Business Divorce, Delaware Style

This week’s New York Business Divorce highlights an unusual corporate dissolution case in which a tie-break provision in the shareholders agreement of 50/50 shareholders gave one of them the decisive vote in the event of board deadlock, which in turn doomed the other’s deadlock dissolution petition.
Continue Reading Tie-Breaker in Shareholders Agreement Defeats Deadlock Dissolution Petition

Deadlock in LLCs with two equal members can be a major problem and trigger for dissolution proceedings, which is why it’s crucial to consider deadlock avoidance provisions in the operating agreement. This week’s New York Business Divorce, and a related podcast interview on the Business Divorce Roundtable, features noted LLC expert and attorney John Cunningham on the topic of LLC deadlock and how to avoid it.
Continue Reading John Cunningham on Avoiding Deadlock in Two-Member LLCs

The respondents in a case recently decided by Justice Kim Dollard learned the hard way that opposing a corporate dissolution petition requires more than an attorney affirmation or attorney-verified answer. Learn more in this week’s New York Business Divorce.
Continue Reading How Not to Oppose a Dissolution Petition

Is the contractual freedom associated with LLC statutory default rules being used to promote efficiencies or opportunistically by LLC controllers at the expense of vulnerable LLC members? That’s the subject of a study and article by Professor Peter Molk highlighted in this week’s New York Business Divorce and accompanying interview of Professor Molk on the Business Divorce Roundtable podcast.
Continue Reading Professor Peter Molk’s Groundbreaking Study of How LLC Owners Contract Around Default Statutory Protections