Majority Owners of closely held businesses may face claims that they engaged in minority oppression of shareholders, limited liability company members or partners. Defending the minority oppression claim requires examination of written agreements and consideration of the reasonable expectations of the owners when the business was formed. Claims of minority…
Minority shareholders of a closely held corporation may be subjected to oppressive conduct by the controlling majority that deprives them of the benefits of their investment. Oppressed minority shareholder actions vindicate the rights of the minority owner to participate in the management and share in the economic benefits of the…
‘Business Divorce’ refers to disputes in which the owners of a closely held business, whether a corporation, limited liability company, partnership or limited partnership, must separate their business interests. In many cases, such as oppressed minority shareholder cases or oppressed LLC member cases, there are allegations that those in control…
Digital Camera International, Ltd. v. Antebi, et al., 11-cv-1823 (E.D.N,.Y. July 13, 2017) Statutes: N.J.S.A. 14A:12-7(1)(c) Facts:Shareholders of a New Jersey corporation participated in a variety of activities that would be classified as oppressive behavior, including the payment of persona expenses with corporate funds, operating a competing business, insider contracts…
Holding a family business together gets more difficult as time passes, as this recent opinion from the Appellate Division demonstrates. A rift between the family members still working for, and in control of H. Schultz & Sons, resulted in the minority members who stopped receiving dividends while the company was…
I don’t like reality TV, but I will admit that I thought the fights between the Paul Teutul Sr. and his son, Paul Jr., were the most interesting part of the show. Now that they are involved in litigation over the ownership of the company, I suppose I can take…
When one or more of the owners of a business think it is time to get divorced, the decision in invariably accompanied by hard feelings. As most clients ultimately learn, the courts are incapable of resolving emotional issues. But they deal pretty well with money – which is why it…