Years ago, oppressed minority shareholders in New Jersey corporations had more protection than oppressed members of a New Jersey LLC. When the statute was revised in 2014, that changed, and LLC members now have similar remedies available to them. But there is one little-known section of the New Jersey LLC statute that makes it a more powerful tool for the majority owners than the corporate statute – the ability to “dissociate” a member. » Read More

Minority owners of closely-held corporations (in New Jersey) often put themselves in a position where they are cut off from access to the company’s books and records.  When that happens, several things can occur, and few of them are good.

For example, majority shareholders who have unfettered access to the company’s finances often abuse their power by granting themselves impermissible benefits that are not related to their employment by the company, and are not proportionately shared with the minority shareholders.  » Read More

In my last post, I wrote about the fact that your right to simply withdraw from a New Jersey LLC and be paid fair market value for your shares – provided the Operating Agreement does not prohibit this – is being eliminated on March 1, 2014.  » Read More

Recently, a defendant testified in a deposition that I was conducting that there was no reason that he could not fire my client, who was a 28% minority shareholder in a New Jersey corporation.  Since the defendant was the majority (51%) owner, he believed he could fire whomever he wanted. » Read More

I have written many times over the years about the differences between a corporation and an LLC when it comes to minority owner rights in New Jersey.  On many occasions, I have written about the fact that shareholder rights are much more expansive in a corporation, and much more restrictive in an LLC.  » Read More