One of the first business divorce cases that I participated in as a young litigator was a lengthy arbitration over whether a minority shareholder was oppressed under BCL 1104-a. With those fond memories, evolution of the...more
1/13/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Oppression ,
Shareholders ,
Summary Judgment
One need not peruse the pages of this blog for long to learn that its authors strongly advise against entering into an owners’ agreement that calls on the members to “annually” (or worse, “regularly”) update a critical aspect...more
The owners’ agreement is the backbone of the closely-held business. In intracompany LLC disputes, few things are more important than what the operating agreement has to say on the subject. As a consequence, the pages of...more
In 1941, two of the three shareholders of Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. entered into an agreement stating that they would vote their combined 630 of the outstanding 1000 shares of Ringling Bros. stock...more
4/10/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Private Right of Action ,
Shareholders ,
Voting Rights
The members of Nite Cap’s owner, Bull-Poet, LLC, recently traded the full sheets and gentle seas of the Hudson for the strum and drang of litigation in New York’s Supreme Court. But the squall has passed; thanks to New York...more
New York’s default rules regarding LLC members’ rights to transfer their interests appear in sections 603 and 604 of the LLC Law. Section 603 provides that a membership interest is fully assignable, but the assignee does not...more
9/19/2022
/ Acquiescence ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Contract Terms ,
Default ,
Equitable Defenses ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Loans ,
Membership Interest ,
Operating Agreements ,
Transfer of Interest ,
Void ab initio
Two principles often guide courts’ interpretation and enforcement of contracts. First, courts respect parties’ freedom of contract, mostly. So long as an agreement is not illegal or violative of a strong public policy,...more
“Except as provided in the operating agreement. . . ” -
By my count, this phrase and its close relative, “unless otherwise provided in the operating agreement,” appear 59 times in New York’s LLC Law, most often to...more
We often cover preliminary injunctions on the pages of this blog because they are a powerful tool in the business divorce litigator’s toolbox: they force court action early in the case, they can protect rights that are...more
10/18/2021
/ Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Closely Held Businesses ,
Contract Terms ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Membership Interest ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Operating Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reorganizations ,
Right of Reinstatement ,
Termination Rights
Under both New York and Delaware law, members of an LLC may petition for judicial dissolution on the grounds that the management is so hopelessly deadlocked that the LLC can no longer function in accordance with its purpose...more
The statute of limitations to recover on a breach of contract is six years. Parties can extend that limitations periods by agreement, and New York General Obligations Law 17-101 governs the form of such agreements. ...more
One of the more attractive features of LLCs as a business organization is that they are, in large part, creatures of contract. Most provisions in the NY LLC Law are default rules, and members are free to adopt those or...more
The statutes of limitations set forth in the CPLR are default rules, and parties generally are free to modify default rules by agreement. But statutes of limitations also further the important public interests, such as...more
11/18/2020
/ Construction Defects ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
CPLR ,
Indemnification ,
Public Projects ,
Public Works ,
State Contractors ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tolling
In 2015, our colleagues in the white-collar criminal defense bar braced for the impact of a memorandum penned by then Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. The Yates Memo encouraged both federal prosecutors and civil...more
9/16/2020
/ Commercial Court ,
Consultants ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Defense Strategies ,
Derivatives ,
Deutsche Bank ,
Financial Crisis ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Third-Party ,
Unconscionable Contracts ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes ,
Yates Memorandum
As regular readers of the blog surely are aware, there are few provisions in an LLC or shareholders agreement more likely to be the focus of dispute than the buy-sell provision. Most times, these disputes expose a flaw in the...more
It works the same way in small businesses as it does in major investment firms: the executives reach agreement on the terms of a deal, then leave the lawyers to paper things accordingly....more