Practice
LLC and partnership disputes
When the people who own a company stop agreeing, the company is usually the first casualty. We act for members, partners and minority shareholders, and sometimes for the company itself.
Deadlock between equal owners
Two owners, two votes, no decision. The operating agreement, a court or a buyout can break it.
Access to the books
A written demand to inspect records, and the motion that follows when the demand is ignored.
Minority owners shut out
Distributions stopped, salaries raised, meetings held without notice. Claims that the majority took more than its share.
Buyouts and valuation
Forcing or defending a buyout, and the expert work that sets the price.
Removal and expulsion
Whether a manager or partner was removed by the rules in the agreement or around them.
Dissolution
Asking a court to wind a company up when nothing else will work, and dividing what's left.
Questions we hear about lLC and partnership disputes
We never signed an operating agreement. What governs?
The state's default rules for that kind of company. They are often less friendly to a minority owner than people expect, which is why we read them first.
Can I keep working at the company while we fight?
Often, yes, and it's often wise. We'll talk through what to say and not say at work while a dispute is open.
Will this destroy the business?
It doesn't have to. Many owner disputes end in a negotiated buyout, and the company carries on with one fewer owner.
Talk to a lawyer about your dispute
Send the documents that started it. A lawyer reads them and calls you back.