Category Archives: Court Rulings

U.S. Appellate Court Affirms Witness’s Exclusion Under Rule 702—Cites New Rule 702 but Follows Abrogated Precedent Instead

November 20, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Rodriguez v. Hosp. San Cristobal, Inc., 2024 (Editor’s note: This is the first reported appellate decision to cite the new Rule 702 amendments effective Dec. 1, 2023. While the appellate court noted the changes, it also cited outdated but familiar precedents. For a more thorough analysis of this issue and case, please see an article  Continue Reading »

New Hampshire Supreme Court Affirms in Part and Vacates in Part and Remands Divorce Trial Court—Husband Fails to Provide Support for Expenses

November 6, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

In re Hebert, 2024 The New Hampshire Supreme Court, in this divorce case appeal, vacated the trial court’s property division and alimony awards but affirmed the trial court’s findings regarding the value of the husband’s business, Microelectrodes Inc., the value of the real estate that the Microelectrodes plant sits on (Pleasant Bay LLC), the imputation  Continue Reading »

Rhode Island Supreme Court Affirms Value of Interest in Medical Practice Per Shareholder Agreement and Equitable Distribution of Assets in a Divorce Case

October 23, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Cronan v. Cronan, 2024 In this Supreme Court of Rhode Island appeal of a divorce case decision from the family court, the supreme court, among other decisions, held that the marital estate was properly distributed, the husband’s interest in the medical imaging business was properly valued, and the magistrate had a comprehensive discussion of the  Continue Reading »

U.S. District Court Excludes Expert’s Testimony on Critique of Plaintiffs’ Damages but Allows Same Expert Testimony on His Damages Calculation

October 9, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Rieves v. Town of Smyrna, 2024 Before the court in this economic damages case was the plaintiffs’ motion to exclude the testimony of the defendants’ retained expert, Robert Vance, CPA. The defendants sought to have Vance testify as an expert regarding the calculation of the plaintiffs’ damages. The plaintiffs argued that Vance’s testimony did not  Continue Reading »

Bankruptcy Court Determines Fair Value Under Asset Approach With ‘Limited Evidence’ Available to It

September 25, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Herremans v. Fedo (In re Herremans), 2023 This case in Bankruptcy Court involved a court determination of the fair value of a 50% interest in a Ponderosa restaurant in Michigan. The two 50% owners who founded the restaurant 27 years ago had a falling out and set about using litigation to wrest control of the  Continue Reading »

Fair Value Decision Analyzes Valuation Issues

September 11, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Rosenthal v. Erber, 2023 Ted Rosenthal and Jeffrey Erber each owned 50% of 87th Street Optical Corp. Erber ran the store, Jeffrey’s Manhattan Eyeland, while Rosenthal was a passive investor. Rosenthal filed a petition for dissolution on Feb. 3, 2021. Erber elected to purchase Rosenthal’s interest based on its fair value as of Feb. 2,  Continue Reading »

New York Court Allows Enforcement of Under-Market-Value Buy-Sell and Approves At-Will Termination of Shareholder-Employees

August 28, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Laurilliard v. McNamee Lochner, P.C. Plaintiffs Kevin Laurilliard and Paul Pastore brought this commercial action against the law firm McNamee Lochner PC as well as nine individuals alleged to be “majority shareholders” of the firm. The defendants moved for dismissal of the complaint. The plaintiffs’ allegations. McNamee Lochner PC was an Albany law firm, and  Continue Reading »

Appellate Court Affirms Value of Businesses and Tax Liability Issue

August 14, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Pemberton v. Pemberton, 2023 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 485; 2023 This is an appeal of the district court’s decree in a complex Minnesota divorce case. While a number of issues were appealed to and decided by the appellate court in this case, including spousal maintenance, this digest focuses on the value of Stephen’s (the husband’s)  Continue Reading »

Appellate Court Remands for New Determination of Husband’s Earnings, Affirms No Dissipation of Assets

July 31, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

In re Marriage of Sommerville, 2023 Tara Sommerville (the wife) appealed the economic provisions of her divorce decree from Jamie Sommerville (the husband). She contended the district court erred in determining the husband’s earning capacity and awarding child support and spousal support. She also contended the husband dissipated marital assets by incurring penalties and interest  Continue Reading »

U.S. District Court Overturns Jury Award for Consequential Damages

July 12, 2024 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Endless River Techs. LLC v. Trans Union LLC, 2023 The parties had entered into a development agreement and contract for services for “the  joint development and commercialization of a method for providing insurers on-line, real time comparison price quotes to consumers (‘Quote Exchange’).” Trans Union LLC (the defendant) admitted having breached the contract by not  Continue Reading »