Business Divorce Cases of 2020

March 03, 2021

The pace of business divorce litigation has proven impervious to economic busts and booms, and now pandemics as well. The courts have more than risen to the occasion, quickly adapting to virtual appearances by counsel, managing ever-crowded dockets with the help of remotely located staff, and—we are happy to report—handing down numerous, important decisions in disputes between co-owners of closely held firms.

Last year’s most notable decisions predominantly involve disputed buyouts in statutory fair-value appraisal proceedings and pursuant to buy-sell agreements. These include a so-called “shotgun” buy-sell agreement that misfired and an appellate decision of apparent first impression in which the court rejected a “double dipping” claim by a minority owner for post-valuation date distributions. First up, however, is an important ruling that ordered dissolution of a limited partnership by operation of law under rarely invoked provisions of the Revised Limited Partnership Act.

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