A one-third owner of a limited liability company, having substantial value, came to us when his longtime friend and co-owner abruptly attempted to eject him from the company. We immediately intervened and stopped the attempted dissociation by the two-thirds owner. We advised our client to continue to work at the company and fully participate in the daily operations of the business. We also advised our client and counsel for the majority owner that since our client was a co-manager, he had equal rights to manage the business.

The two-thirds owner unsuccessfully attempted to buy out our client’s interest in the company for a minimal sum, and summarily rejected our client’s counter-offer. After two mediations and a court hearing favorable to our client, the two-thirds owner finally agreed to pay our client a much larger upfront payment and even greater future payments in exchange for our client’s ownership interests in the company. The purchase price to our client far exceeded the minimal amount initially offered by the two-thirds owner, and was very close to our original demand.