Shareholder dispute litigation may often be an effective way to achieve a remedy for wrongdoing committed by the majority, such as getting paid for your shares. However, filing litigation against your business partners may not be the most cost-effective way of obtaining such relief. » Read More

A common approach for oppressed minority shareholders seeking to prepare themselves for business divorce litigation is to start taking affirmative action to build a case.

In fact, I tell clients to do this all the time, but only with careful guidance. » Read More

The truth about business divorce litigation in New Jersey is that most of them result in some sort of buyout.  An entire (expensive) litigation often takes place over related and critical issues, such as who will be the buyer and who will sell; valuation issues, including (sometimes) the valuation date; and the equalization of money (such as when one side has paid itself too much).  » Read More

There appears to be an uptick in the filing of meritless corporate shareholder and LLC member oppression claims in New Jersey.  Not everything that majority shareholders do that upsets a minority owner is worth spending legal fees to pursue.

When the only allegations one can make are a failure to keep an absentee shareholder fully informed of all business transactions, and a failure to obtain that minority shareholder’s consent to such transactions, that alone is rarely a recipe for successful litigation.  » Read More

Many clients who come in to discuss a possible business divorce action are already anticipating obstacles to their own case.  Having a foresighted, prepared client is wonderful.  But when those clients take matters into their own hands before even coming into my office, sometimes they have harmed more than helped their own case. » Read More

No matter how many times I write about disputes between business partners, and how many times clients tell me their horror stories, I remain amazed by the ease with which some major business divorces could have been avoided.  Most of the time, when a shareholder dispute could have been averted, it is because one of the parties just needed to listen to the other.  » Read More

Not surprisingly, business divorce litigation can be quite costly.  Whether this cost is “worth it” is not always so easy to figure out.  If a minority shareholder or LLC member in New Jersey has an interest valued at $600,000, spending $50,000 – $100,000 in legal fees may be warranted to achieve a buy-out.  » Read More

You likely came across this article if you Googled the term “shareholder dispute.”  However, it is just as likely that you Googled the term “business divorce.”  One business owner suing the other(s) to be bought out, or some other escape, is often rightly referred to as business divorce because it is analogous to a divorce among spouses in obvious ways.  » Read More

Many shareholders contemplating getting a “business divorce” have put up with an intolerable situation for years, because they fear that filing a shareholder oppression lawsuit will somehow make matters even worse.  They might be partly correct in the short term.  But the long-term gains often outweigh temporary negatives. » Read More

In closely-held businesses in New Jersey with multiple owners, it seems fairly obvious that the more co-owners you can recruit to your side in a business divorce litigation, the better.  You don’t need a lawyer to tell you that.  However, what is not so obvious is the possibility of recruiting co-owners to your side once the litigation has commenced. » Read More