Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. — Dr. Spock, Star Trek, Starfleet Officer The long-running legal saga between Enterprise Products Partners (“Enterprise”) and Energy Transfer Partners (“ETP”) may finally be nearing its end after the Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision last Friday, January 31, 2020, holding that no partnership ever arose between the parties. (Read more) This dispute between two of the major players in the energy industry focused…

Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival—to be understood, to be validated, to be appreciated. William Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ____________________________________ The deepest principle of human nature is a craving to be appreciated. William James, American Psychologist and Philosopher The new year has started and private company owners are ramping up business plans for 2020.  Their focus is on specific key targets—adding customers, building new…

Our first blog post of the New Year looks back at an important case the Texas Supreme Court decided in 2019, and its potential impact on majority owners seeking to avoid fraud claims by new investors. See Int’l Bus. Machines Corp. v. Lufkin Indus., LLC, 573 S.W.3d 224 (Tex. 2019), reh’g denied (May 31, 2019).  The case is notable because the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s judgment following a jury trial that resulted in…

Like fish need water in which to swim, private company owners need to secure capital on an almost continuous basis.  Capital is necessary to develop the company’s products and services, to retain top talent and to market and promote the business.  But securing capital from outside investors can cause headaches for company founders when conflicts later arise with new investors who have discordant views about the company’s strategy and business plans.  For this reason, business…

Entrepreneurs with visions of taking their company public one day may look forward to announcing their IPO by ringing the bell at the stock exchange on Wall Street and celebrating at an extravagant closing dinner with the founder team. These heady pre-IPO dreams may quickly run into a number of significant real world challenges, however, that are regularly faced by the management of public companies.  This blog post reviews some of the serious issues that…

The private company marketplace has become increasingly attractive to investors as the number of opportunities for investment has vastly expanded.  There are approximately 6 million companies in the US, but less than 1% are publicly traded on a national stock exchange and more than 85% of businesses with more than 500 employees are privately owned.  The attraction for investors is that private companies hold the potential to yield robust financial returns due to the fact…

Following Supreme Court arguments last month, the final chapter in the long-running legal battle between Energy Transfer Partners LP (“ETP”) and Enterprise Products Partners (“Enterprise”) is finally coming to an end. ETP is requesting the Texas high court to reinstate the $535 million judgment it obtained after a jury trial against Enterprise in 2014. The case presents critical issues regarding the manner in which a Texas partnership can be formed, and the importance of these…