Litigation over who is—and who is not—a member of a limited liability company has become a defining feature of LLCs.  A recent First Department decision suggests a shift away from informality and back toward strict compliance with the contractual mechanics of admission.

Continue Reading Promise of Equity Falls to Operating Agreement’s Rigid Admission Requirements

Every so often a case comes along that reads less like a business dispute and more like a cautionary tale about the perils arising out of unwritten deals among friends. As we’ve written about before, these cases can be brutal to defend, particularly where the pleadings just robust enough to survive a motion to

When an LLC operating agreement permits action upon majority consent, can a minority member nonetheless challenge that action as a breach of the majority’s fiduciary duties?  The Fourth Department weighs in. 

Continue Reading Can Majority-Authorized Action Still Breach Fiduciary Duty?

Can a three-person minority outvote a four-person majority to oust the majority-appointed, longtime CEO of a profitable company (who also happens to be the founder of the company) in a vote requiring supermajority approval?

The math ain’t mathing, you may be saying to yourself.

But today, we explore a case—SJI Renewable Entery Ventures LLC,

This week NYBD presents its annual Winter Case Notes summarizing several recent decisions of interest.

Continue Reading Winter Case Notes: A Partnership Masquerading as an LLC, and Other Recent Decisions of Interest

A recent Brooklyn Supreme Court case bring useful insight on three post-dissolution fundamentals: when (and how) a dissolution can be annulled, the court’s supervisory power under BCL 1008, and why, when shareholders are deadlocked as to dissolution procedure, a public sale—not a private deal—is the default endgame.

Continue Reading Corporate Afterlife: Deadlock and Accounting in the Winding-Up Phase

The BCL § 1118 buyout election is a mighty litigation tool, capable of thwarting judicial dissolution, capable even of thwarting an injunction. But it is not a panacea. Read about the powers and limitations of the statutory buyout election in this week’s New York Business Divorce.

Continue Reading The BCL § 1118 Buyout Election: A Powerful Defense. With Limits.