Fraudulent Inducement Claims Rejected by Court In Shareholder Buyout Dispute The broad release language contained in a buyout agreement is enforced, despite claims of fraudulent inducement, affirms the Appellate Division of Superior Court in Marino v. Twin Rivers Podiatry, P.A., Docket No. A-5630-10T1 (May 19, 2012). This short opinion is…
Small business owners sometimes run into difficulties with their business partners after much time has passed since they first set up the business. They come to discover that the operating agreement either does not address their problem or the result is not what they intended. Small business owners should take…
A contract means what it says, even if the two parties who came to the agreement may have understood something different. This can be a trap for the business that is not careful to ensure that the contract that it signs at the end of negotiations accurately reflects exactly what…
In some circumstances, a business may be able to claim that its organizational documents are trade secrets. That seems to be the holding of a trial court decision insulating a partnership agreement from disclosure to a labor union. The case is interesting because non-management owners do not generally have free…
Oral agreements and even an extended course of dealing probably will be insufficient under New Jersey law to contradict the language of a written agreement, even if by all outward appearances a partnership existed. An Appellate Division decision finding that no partnership between attorneys who practiced together for 11 years…
Shareholders in a New Jersey corporation have the statutory right to inspect books and records concerning the corporation and its affairs; but does this right extend to minutes of the board of directors and executive committees? For example, can the shareholder who does not participate in the management of the business…
Limited liability companies are creatures of contract, and the Operating Agreement is the Magna Carta of the business. Because it is a contract, however, all of the members must consent to any changes to the Operating Agreement, which means that the holdout member has a veto. In short, the minority rules…