Nonprofit Basics: How To Wind up a California Charity
Episode 013: Interview with Justice Carolyn E. Demarest (Ret.) on Business Divorce Litigation
What is a petition for dissolution of marriage and what does it mean to serve the petition?
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
Business divorce and non-judicial (a/k/a voluntary) dissolution of a business entity rarely intersect. But when they do, or even in a non-business divorce setting, if a business owner needs to rescind a certificate of...more
There are plenty of advantages to practicing business divorce litigation in New York. The diversity of businesses and clients, complexity of agreements and transactions, and excellence of judges and attorneys make New York,...more
The last time we featured a notable decision on a claim for dissolution of a restaurant-operating LLC was in 2017, with a post by Frank McRoberts titled, “LLC’s Purpose Being Achieved? Business Doing Fine? Good Luck Getting...more
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
The authors of this blog have a special affinity for fair value appraisal proceedings. The narrow hearings—where the sole issue before the court is the fair value of an owner’s interest in a business—require attorneys and...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
Our federal courts by and large are not hospitable to business divorce litigation. The two mainstays of the federal courts’ limited subject matter jurisdiction — federal question and diversity of citizenship — typically are...more
Unlike the vast majority of states, New York hasn’t adopted the Revised Uniform Partnership Act (1997) (“RUPA”). A recent appellate decision by a court in a neighboring RUPA state — New Jersey — highlights the very different...more
A limited partnership without a general partner cannot lawfully continue. That’s why it’s critical that the limited partnership agreement thoughtfully address general partner succession and, when triggered, the agreement’s...more
Two years ago, Peter Mahler wrote about a dissolution lawsuit by a female minority shareholder alleging that her male co-shareholders condoned a pattern of sexually offensive and demeaning conduct by a senior co-worker, which...more
Ownership status in a closely-held business is the first and most vital box almost every business divorce petitioner must check....more
The Cummins Nursery in upstate New York grows, harvests, plants, and grafts fruit trees — mainly apple trees — which along with scions and rootstocks it sells by the tens of thousands each year. There’s also a farm stand and...more
Like the Energizer bunny, some business divorce lawsuits keep going and going and going. Years of protracted litigation, brutal though they may be upon the parties, are a bonanza for voyeuristic business divorce practitioners...more
Of late I’ve been ruminating on New York’s membership in the shrinking pool of states that don’t recognize oppression of an LLC minority member by the controlling members or managers as ground for judicial dissolution....more
Section 1007 of the Business Corporation Law (the “BCL”) has a procedure for dissolved corporations to publish “notice requiring all creditors and claimants . . . to present their claims in writing and in detail at a...more
If a written limited partnership agreement contains detailed provisions governing partner withdrawal and dissolution, can a court nonetheless look to the statutory “default rules” in the Revised Limited Partnership Act (the...more
“The Company is formed for any valid business purpose” Nine seemingly benign words in the garden-variety operating agreement of a realty holding LLC. Nine words that, as one judge opined under similar circumstances some...more
The ongoing coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic has quite literally impacted everyone and everything in New York, including the courts, which were forced to temporarily cease non-essential functions. The result was a short-lived...more
Business Divorce 101: To be entitled to an accounting of a closely-held business, the plaintiff or petitioner must demonstrate the existence of a fiduciary relationship giving rise to a duty to account....more
I’ve yet to see him make a court appearance, and hope I never do, but the Grim Reaper sure has a knack for disrupting business divorce litigation involving LLCs and limited partnerships....more
Not for the first time, I find myself intrigued by the federal courts’ resistance to hearing state law claims for judicial dissolution of business entities where subject matter jurisdiction otherwise exists based on diversity...more
In 2018, two members of a realty holding LLC sought judicial dissolution based on the death of one of the other members. The operating agreement defines a member’s death as an event of “Dissociation.”...more
The nationwide landscape of statutes and case law governing judicial dissolution of limited liability companies exhibits more state-to-state similarity than dissimilarity....more