It’s the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving and the phone rings with a new client. The situation in the office has become an emergency. Either someone has been locked out or someone needs to be locked out, or someone is walking out the door with a key client. Many of our…
Partnership Failed to Keep Inactive Partner Informed The fiduciary duties owed among partners can change with time and circumstances, and the disclosures that were appropriate when all of the partners worked together in the business may become inadequate when one of the partners has ceased to take an active role. This is the…
Promoters of LLC Subject to Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Limited liability companies are clearly the vehicle of choice for new, closely held businesses. That means that more often than not the principals have some existing relationship before they take up their new business together. Can that prior relationship create…
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…
Sometimes an expert valuation opinion, however well documented, leads to a conclusion that just doesn’t square with reality. That was the case with an expert opinion in Rughani-Shah v. Noaz, Docket No. A-4943-08T2 (Sept. 16, 2011) that valued a one-third interest in a medical practice at just $25,000. The trial…
Uniform Partnership Act Limits Remedy If a partner dies after having allegedly misappropriated partnership funds, do the other partners have a right to pursue his estate? The answer appears to be no, according to a recent Chancery Court decision. The decision in In re Genet, Docket No.: ESX-C-44-11 (Oct. 13,…
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…
Partnership Interest Secretly Transferred to Family Member Does a partner have an obligation — separate and apart from the terms of a partnership agreement — to disclose the fact that one of the partners has transferred their interest to another member of the partnership? The question seems to answer itself. …
Oppressed Shareholder Settlement Void Shareholders in New Jersey’s Wild West City cannot distribute assets to resolve an oppressed shareholder action due to an unresolved claim involving an employee’s accidental shooting. The case is a warning, perhaps, that prudence requires some due diligence before a release is signed to ensure that…
Socialite’s Family Partnership Interest Book value can have a few different meanings. The best definition is simply the value of assets and liabilities that a company carries on its books. Is it different than the “fair value” standard applied in statutory buyouts? Yes– a lot different. There are many partnership…