Episode 8: Minority Oppression in the LLC: Interview With Professor Douglas Moll
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles - In this asbestos action, the court considered various defense motions. Defendant Western Auto Supply company filed a request opposing punitive damages, arguing...more
The prior discussion, Determining a Remedy After Oppression or Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Part 4), presented a listing of the potential remedies on a finding of a breach of duty and oppression. Frequently, the animosity among...more
Once the court finds that oppression and/or a breach of fiduciary duty has occurred, it has to determine a remedy. Either by statute or within its equitable authority, the court may offer many alternative remedies...more
Many Texas lawyers and their private company clients continue to refer to the claim for shareholder oppression as if it remains a viable cause of action under Texas law. And yet, for all practical purposes, the claim for...more
Almost five years have passed since the Texas Supreme issued its decision in Ritchie v. Rupe in 2014 abolishing shareholder oppression as a claim under common law by minority shareholders in private Texas companies....more
As it approaches its sixth anniversary with little sign of letting up, the highly contentious litigation between brothers and business partners NIssim and Avraham Kassab is the gift that keeps on giving, at least to us...more
In Herring Bancorp, Inc. v. Mikkelsen, a corporation acquired a majority of the outstanding shares of preferred stock by “repurchasing” those shares in accordance with the articles of incorporation, including the shares owned...more
The combination of majority rule and lack of exit rights leaves minority members of LLCs vulnerable to oppressive conduct by the majority, yet unlike legislation in most states giving dissolution and buy-out remedies to...more
“Minority shareholder oppression” is a legal claim that occurs when the majority shareholders in a closely held corporation engage in “oppressive” action that unfairly prejudices the minority shareholder’s interests. In...more
The question often arises whether a minority shareholder can require the majority to buy his interest in a privately held company. The answer, as a general matter, is that absent an agreement that provides for the purchase,...more
A corporation's failure to follow legal formalities under the Canada Business Corporations Act, RSC 1985 c C-44 [CBCA] does not, by itself, establish oppression, the Supreme Court recently held in Mennillo v Intramodal inc.,...more
In Shefsky v. California Gold Mining Inc., the Alberta Court of Appeal (Court) upheld the chambers judge’s decision and dismissed the appeal of Martin Shefsky in a fight for control of the board of directors of California...more
In its recent decision in Maurice v. Alles, the Court of Appeal for Ontario held that oppression remedy claims under the Ontario Business Corporations Act (OBCA) must be commenced within the general two-year limitation period...more
Earlier this summer, in Brown v. Pennington, No. 05-14-01349-CV, 2015 WL 3958618 (Tex. App., June 30, 2015), the Texas Court of Appeals dismissed a tort claim against a non-shareholder loan guarantor for lack of personal...more
On May 26, 2015, the Court of Appeal for Ontario released its decision in Rea et al v Wildeboer, clarifying the distinct role of derivative actions under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. The role is so distinct that the...more
On June 20, 2014, the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Ritchie v. Rupe, 2014 Tex. LEXIS 500 (Tex. 2014). In Ritchie, a minority shareholder in a closely held corporation attempted to force the majority shareholders...more
In three recent cases, the Texas Supreme Court has made it clear that for claims of "minority shareholder oppression" — essentially, acts of a majority shareholder group that are harmful to a minority shareholder without...more
Wisniewski v. Walsh, an interesting unpublished decision by a New Jersey appellate court, involves more than 10 years of a family dispute over a business. The litigation covers a wide range of issues, including how siblings,...more