Franklin C. McRoberts

Firm/Organization: Farrell Fritz, P.C.
Blogs: New York Business Divorce

Latest Articles

One of the great ironies of New York business divorce litigation is that so much of it involves the breakup of law firms. Perhaps it’s because New York is the center of the legal universe and the home state of thousands of law firms. Maybe it’s because lawyers are litigious by nature. Another, less obvious reason: law firms often imprecisely use the term “partner” to describe their lawyers. Under Section 10 of the Partnership Law, the term…
Years ago, we wrote about the perils of “impromptu” settlements in business divorce cases – settlements eked out at the courthouse, on the fly, under pressure, during conferences, hearings, or trials. The resulting agreements tend to be memorialized in on-the-record, transcribed settlements made verbally between lawyers, clients, and the judge. In-court settlements are both common and vital to litigation, the ultimate goal of which, of course, is to resolve disputes. But sometimes the parties’ eagerness to…
It’s simply in the nature of things that business divorce litigants tend to accuse one another of all manner of heinous, dastardly misdeeds. Phrases like “oppression,” “fraud,” “deceit,” “theft,” “siphoning” of assets, “diversion” of opportunities, etc., are the norm. As a litigant, if you make those kinds of allegations, and they turn out to be unsuccessful, or you withdraw them, can you be sued for defamation? Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne M. Ozzi considered that question in Seneca v Cangro, 2018 …
After 35 years, Matter of Kemp & Beatley, Inc. (64 NY2d 63 [1984]), remains the leading authority in New York on oppression-based corporate dissolution. In Kemp & Beatley, the Court of Appeals announced a now-venerable legal rule: “Assuming the petitioner has set forth a prima facie case of oppressive conduct,” a shareholder wishing to “forestall dissolution” must “demonstrate to the court the existence of an adequate, alternative remedy.” In practice, what this means is that courts must consider whether…
Earlier this year, to honor the retirement of former Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich, we published a special retrospective of some of her most notable business divorce decisions. This month, two of her former colleagues, Manhattan Commercial Division Justices Eileen Bransten and Charles E. Ramos, are themselves retiring. Justice Bransten concludes 25 years a jurist; Justice Ramos, 35 years on the bench. With the departure of these two judicial titans, we here at…
A basic and well-known principle of partnership law is that, absent an agreement to the contrary, general partners have authority to unilaterally bind the partnership to contracts with third parties. In New York, the rule is codified in Section 20 (1) of the Partnership Law, which states: Every partner is an agent of the partnership for the purpose of its business, and the act of every partner, including the execution in the partnership name of any instrument,…
Let’s face it. In business divorce, the accounting cause of action doesn’t get a lot of love. It’s not as sexy as the torts (conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, waste, etc). It lacks the oomph of judicial dissolution. Nonetheless, accounting claims are ubiquitous in business divorce litigation, pleaded practically as a matter of course. Sometimes the claim is tacked on as if by rote, perhaps simply to beef up a petition, complaint, or counter complaint. But other times, like the books …
Last week, this blog wrote about a decision by Manhattan Commercial Division Justice Saliann Scarpulla in the burgeoning Yu family melee, in that case pitting one brother against the other and their sister over dissolution of two single-asset real estate holding LLCs. In her decision, Justice Scarpulla denied dissolution of the LLCs, despite the plaintiff’s allegations that his brother and sister had a personal “vendetta” against him, which they carried out by amending the operating agreement to remove the plaintiff as a manager, authorizing a…
This is the final installment of a three-part series about the basics of contested New York business appraisal proceedings. The first post addresses the various ways in which business owners can steer a dispute into an appraisal proceeding. The second post addresses the legal rules and principles that apply in appraisal proceedings. This final post addresses the appraisal methodologies and principles that apply in valuation proceedings. Without further ado, let’s talk accounting. Valuation Date The date on…
A few weeks ago, this blog – in the first of a three-part series about business valuation proceedings – addressed the various statutory triggers by which owners of New York partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies can wind up in a contested business appraisal proceeding. So you, or your client, have found yourself in an appraisal proceeding. The question then becomes: What are the legal rules, principles, and standards that apply in the valuation proceeding itself? That is the subject of today’s article.…