We discuss the high-profile Evenstad Upsher-Smith case, highlighting the extreme schisms that are possible in family business and how arbitration clauses can protect the future of a business. Read More
When family business owners are determined to force another owner out of the business, they tend to get sneaky and play loose with the rules –to the point that they end up jeopardizing the business itself. On this episode of Divided Dynasties, Mark Briol and Scott Benson delve into a specific case, McGrath v. MICO, to share the telltale signs...Read More
The special litigation committee is a powerful tool, and corporations should not be allowed to resort to it prematurely: an analysis from Joseph Pull and Scott Benson, published in the most recent volume of the University of St. Thomas Law Journal.Read More
In December 2014, Kim Lund, one of four siblings who shared beneficial ownership of Minnesota’s Lund grocery empire, filed a lawsuit against her brother Tres Lund (the CEO of the business entities), the entities themselves, two directors, and a co-trustee of one of Kim’s trusts. In the action Kim sought to divest her Lund business...Read More
“Shareholder oppression” is action by the directors or controlling shareholders of a closely held corporation [1] that is unfairly prejudicial to a minority shareholder. Oppression can take many forms. Three examples – termination of a shareholder employee, financial freeze out, and exclusion from corporate affairs – are described here, but other types of oppression may also arise,...Read More
The Minnesota Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision, recently confirmed that a corporate officer is entitled to indemnification for her attorneys’ fees in defending allegations of corporate misconduct for her personal benefit. The underlying message: if you sue your business partner for taking money from the company, she may nevertheless get her legal fees...Read More