News & Analysis as of

Limited Liability Company (LLC) Business Disputes

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Conditional Grants of Membership Interests Are a Roadway to Courtroom Conflict

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In the world of business divorce litigation, this summer saw everything but a slowdown.  We witnessed (and blogged about) Justice Crane cap a long-running fair value proceeding with helpful guidance on appraisals and...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Prudent Management or Financial Starvation: Can Minority Members Compel the Majority to Make Distributions?

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“It all started when the distributions stopped.”  In my travels as a business divorce litigator, I’ve seen many disputes between LLC co-owners that begin with that message.  A minority owner is content to remain a “silent...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Summer Shorts: An Unusual Application of LLC Law § 608 and Other Decisions of Interest

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Did Chancery Court Just Crack Open the Door to Equitable Dissolution of LLCs?

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Special Considerations for Law Firm Breakups

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Just a few weeks ago, I commented on a recent uptick in disputes centered on the breakup of professional services firms. In those disputes, we expect that the demands of the legal, accounting, and medical professions draw...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

It Takes More Than a Litigation Tsunami Between Hostile Members to Obtain Judicial Dissolution of a Realty-Holding LLC

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Battle for Company Control Turns on Conflicting Copies of Operating Agreement Amid Accusations of “Old-Fashioned Forgery”

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“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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Crossing the Hudson: Recent Business Divorce Decisions from Yonder States

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Legal Ramen-ifications of Dissolving a New York LLC Over Noodle Choices

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

New York Appellate Court’s Split Decision Involving Delaware LLC Pits “Harsh” Contractarianism Against “Fundamental Fairness”

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Rare as a Dodo: Bifurcation in Business Divorce Trials

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Jury trials in business divorce litigation are uncommon. Bifurcated business divorce jury trials are all but nonexistent. But in Aronov v Khavinson (81 Misc3d 1242(A) [Sup Ct, Kings County Feb. 9, 2024]), we encounter the...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Perils of Indeterminate LLC Membership Interests, Redux

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Parallel Business and Matrimonial Divorce Proceedings

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Parallel business divorce proceedings in the same or different courts alleging overlapping or duplicative claims are common. When it occurs, judges must often determine whether to dispose of one so the other may proceed...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Top 10 Business Divorce Cases of 2023

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

California Business Divorce Blog: Your LLC Can Run, But It Probably Cannot Hide From California Jurisdiction

In some cases, owners of an LLC provide in their Operating Agreements that any disputes involving the LLC or arising out of the Operating Agreement, including a business divorce, must be litigated in a private arbitration...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Judicially Expelled Member Pays Heavy Price For Abandoning LLC

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Proceed with Caution: Strategy Considerations Before Making a Books and Records Demand

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The books and records demand often is the opening act in business divorce litigation. The relatively low burden that an owner must meet in order to obtain access to a company’s books and records, and the availability of an...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

New York LLC Caselaw’s Greatest Hits

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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

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth

Business Divorce Blog: Destruction of LLC Records Will Likely Subject LLC Owners to Personal Liability in a Business Divorce...

In a recently published opinion, Hacker v. Fabe, 92 Cal. App. 5th1267 (2023), the California Court of Appeal found that an LLC owner’s destruction of the company’s records was a substantial factor that subjected him to...more

Epstein Becker & Green

What to Do When Your Distribution Checks Stop Arriving

Epstein Becker & Green on

For months, if not years, you received distribution checks from the business in which you own an interest. The funds came without question and like clockwork. You relied on them. Then suddenly, they stopped coming. Is this...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Dissolution Defined: The First Department’s Recent Guidance on Interpreting Operating Agreements

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Damages or Rescission? When Electing Fraud Remedies Choose Wisely

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Imagine devoting years of costly litigation to rescinding a $1 million equity investment in an LLC for fraudulent inducement, prevailing on the merits by clear and convincing evidence after a full trial, but losing anyway...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Use Caution When Amending Your Operating Agreement Without Unanimous Consent

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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

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Surrogate’s Court Jurisdiction to Resolve Close Business Owner Disputes

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Do New York’s Surrogate’s Courts have jurisdiction to compel an accounting related to a non-party limited liability company in which the decedent’s estate has only a minority interest? ...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Take the Business Divorce Pop Quiz!

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It’s been many years since our last pop quiz for all you business divorce aficionados. Time for another. See how many you get right before you read the answers...more

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