I’ve noticed over the many years since this blog’s launch a disproportionate number of posts concerning disputes among restaurant co-owners. The only explanation I’ve come up with is that first-time, start-up restaurant...more
With apologies to the pseudonymous children’s book author Watty Piper, this is the story of a humble buy-sell provision in a family-owned LLC’s operating agreement that temporarily ran out of steam in the lower court, only to...more
2/3/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Business Litigation ,
Business Ownership ,
Buy-Sell Agreements ,
Buyouts ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Family Businesses ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Operating Agreements ,
Shareholders ,
Summary Judgment
Welcome to our 17th annual edition of the Top 10 business divorce cases featured on this blog over the past year.
This year’s selections buck the trend of previous years in which cases involving limited liability...more
1/6/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Shareholders' Agreements
There’s a ton of Delaware caselaw enforcing Section 18-1101 (c) of that state’s LLC Act as amended in 2004, authorizing LLC agreements to eliminate the members’ and managers’ liability for breach of fiduciary duty, the only...more
There’s a ton of Delaware caselaw enforcing Section 18-1101 (c) of that state’s LLC Act as amended in 2004, authorizing LLC agreements to eliminate the members’ and managers’ liability for breach of fiduciary duty, the only...more
It wasn’t long ago that my partner, Peter Sluka, posted about the Andris case where the Appellate Division, Second Department, reinstated an LLC judicial dissolution proceeding brought by the estate of a deceased member....more
It wasn’t long ago that my partner, Peter Sluka, posted about the Andris case where the Appellate Division, Second Department, reinstated an LLC judicial dissolution proceeding brought by the estate of a deceased member. ...more
Welcome to this 14th annual edition of Summer Shorts. This year’s edition features brief commentary on three recent decisions by New York courts in business divorce cases. The featured cases involve a suit pitting three...more
8/12/2024
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Bonds ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Chapter 11 ,
Dissolution ,
Fair Valuation ,
Family Businesses ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Operating Agreements ,
Partnership Agreements
Delaware Chancery Court’s contractarian approach to all things LLC, embedded statutorily in Section 18-1101(b) of the Delaware LLC Act (“It is the policy of this chapter to give the maximum effect to the principle of freedom...more
Count ’em: At the time A sued B for judicial dissolution of one of their several jointly owned companies, there are not one, not two, not three, but eight pending lawsuits between the two 50/50 business partners who first...more
“This case (and its many state-court siblings) has a tortured history,” is the opening line in Judge Subramanian’s decision. The “siblings” are five or so related lawsuits filed in New York State Supreme Court beginning in...more
Folks who’ve been following this blog for years know that periodically I like to venture beyond New York’s borders to find and report on interesting decisions from other states in business divorce cases....more
Last week, the Manhattan-based Appellate Division, First Department, handed down one of the more intriguing decisions by a New York court I’ve seen in a long time involving a dispute between LLC members....more
3/18/2024
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Contract Terms ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Merger Clause ,
Operating Agreements ,
Oral Contracts
In my business divorce practice I deal with many closely held corporations that have only a few or perhaps just two shareholders, each of whom is actively involved in running the business. Within that category are many...more
Capital contributions by business owners are the lifeblood of any newly formed business entity. Typically the lifeblood consists of cash, but not always. In many instances the contribution may consist of tangible (e.g., real...more
Some years are easier than others to select the most significant business divorce cases. In this, the 16th year I’ve published this top-10 list, the task is made especially difficult by a veritable flood of court decisions...more
12/27/2023
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Business Ownership ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Judicial Dissolution ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Shareholders
Last month, in Flor v Greenberg Farrow Architectural Inc., a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division handed down an opinion with important lessons for business owners and practitioners in states that have...more
I recently had the privilege of speaking to an audience of judges of the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division at Fordham Law School’s Eileen Bransten Institute on Complex Commercial Litigation. Naturally, the topic was...more
New York courts are not in the vanguard when it comes to devising less drastic, alternative remedies in LLC judicial dissolution cases.
In their defense, there’s nothing in Article 7 of New York’s LLC Law that expressly...more
In my experience, most operating agreements of New York LLCs include a provision barring amendments unless made in writing and executed by all members. Such provisions are especially prevalent with smaller, member-managed...more
Welcome to the 13th annual edition of Summer Shorts. This year’s edition features brief commentary on five recent decisions by New York courts in a variety of business divorce cases involving equitable contribution among...more
Someday, perhaps, I’ll find the comedic inspiration to come up with a joke that begins, “An LLC, a partnership, and a close corporation walk into a bar . . ..” Until then, I’ll have to satisfy myself with writing about an...more
Husband owns 99% membership of manager-managed LLC. Children own remaining 1%. Postnuptial agreement says husband’s “interest” in LLC goes to wife. LLC agreement says any transferee is not admitted as a member absent the...more
Since its legislative birthing in New York in 1994, the limited liability company has become the preferred choice of entity New York and across the country. Over the ensuing 15 years or so, New York’s lower courts struggled...more
I’m delighted to present our 15th annual list of the past year’s ten most significant business divorce cases.
This year’s list includes decisions by New York’s trial and appellate courts concerning a smorgasbord of...more