The law that controls any business organizations is a creature of state law, and disputes among owners in a business divorce involve the application of the law where the business was formed. More often than not that means the law of the state in which the dispute is being heard,…
Litigating with a former employee for violation of a restrictive covenant agreement becomes more complicated when the former employee was terminated without good cause. And because we are an at-will employment economy, this becomes an issue more frequently than one might imagine. As one author notes, it typically is not…
An Illinois appellate court affirmed a finding of breach of fiduciary duty and the expulsion of a limited liability company member under a version of the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The case is of interest for the way it construes the model partnership and limited liability company acts. Explusion…
Here is the hard reality. The chances that your case, or any case, will get to a real trial on the merits is way less than one in 10. The truth is that only between two and five cases out of 100 will be resolved with a trial. What does…
We often think of the dissociation of a member from a limited liability company as a matter of expulsion. The majority typically wants to expel a problematic minority member from the LLC. But one can also dissociate themselves by resigning as member, or, under the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company…
One of the hardest things about being an effective negotiator is the ability to leave your ego at the door. We need to listen, not impress. Seasoned Negotiators, Effective Apologies As negotiation trainer Jim Camp warns, an effective negotiator learns how to let the other side be “ok,” even when…
Reading through a recent court opinion out of the New York Supreme Court, I am struck by the way the law has diverged in corporate governance litigation. There are two distinctly different approaches to the business divorce. Crossing the Hudson can make a world of difference in operating a closely…
Oh, the fine art of the lockout. For a business divorce litigator, a lockout or expulsion of a minority member is a relatively common occurrence. Managing the lockout, from either the majority or the minority’s perspective, is a key issue that will set the tone of the litigation. WHY LOCKOUTS…
The Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act adopted in New Jersey permits a court to expel a member of a limited liability company when it is not reasonably practicable for the company to continue with that individual as a member. Expulsion, known as involuntary dissociation, based on the not reasonably…
The subject of the Appellate Division’s recent decision in Ames v. Premier Surgical, LLC, Docket No. A-1278-15T1 (June 29, 2026) is who decides whether a dispute is subject to mandatory arbitration. But the nature of dispute here suggests a cautionary tale about withdrawal and valuation, and what happens when the…