This week’s post considers a duo of recent decisions concerning disputes between LLC members over the terms of their operating agreement. In the first case, the court considered whether to enforce an operating agreement as written despite evidence that the parties actually intended a different deal. In the second, the court considered whether to enforce an operating agreement where its buyout terms were grossly unfair. The cases’ different outcomes highlight the outer limits of the parties’ freedom of contract in LLC operating agreements.
Continue Reading The Operating Agreement Controls, Unless Public Policy Says Otherwise
parol evidence
No Prize for Nobel Laureate in Fight for Bigger Stake in Biotech Company
The parol evidence rule blocks the claims of a Nobel laureate based on an alleged oral stock allocation agreement in the shareholder dispute featured in this week’s New York Business Divorce. Don’t miss it!
Continue Reading No Prize for Nobel Laureate in Fight for Bigger Stake in Biotech Company
Inconsistent Documents and Conflicting Testimony Cloud Stock Ownership Issue in Corporate Dissolution Case
When it comes to documenting ownership of closely held corporations, as Art Linkletter would have said, shareholders do the darndest things. There’s no better illustration of this than Matter of Sunburst Associates, Inc. decided last week by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in a judicial dissolution proceeding brought by a putative 50% shareholder. This week’s New York Business Divorce has the story.
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Continue Reading Inconsistent Documents and Conflicting Testimony Cloud Stock Ownership Issue in Corporate Dissolution Case