July 15, 2016 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations
In re Marriage of Hartung, 2015 Iowa App. LEXIS 688 (Aug. 5, 2015) Valuation methodology also was at the center of an Iowa divorce case in which the trial court found one method entirely inappropriate for the situation at hand and the other flawed in the way the expert applied it. Notwithstanding the trial court’s Continue Reading »
July 11, 2016 | Business Plans, Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Financial Planning, Valuations
A covenant not to compete prevents the seller from competing in the same industry for a specified time period and within a specified geographic range, and on the part of the seller, is similar to title insurance to the buyer of the business. In this sense, it protects the buyer from the loss of value tied to Continue Reading »
July 1, 2016 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations
K.T. v. M.T., 2015 Tex. App., LEXIS 8558 (Aug. 13, 2015) Can a solo practice have commercial goodwill, and how do fair market value and the notion of a covenant not to compete (CNTC) fit into the picture? A recent Texas divorce case raised all of these questions and resulted in a predictable outcome. Non-transferable Continue Reading »
June 27, 2016 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations
In divorce cases it’s common for an interest in a closely held business or professional practice to be the marital estate’s most valuable asset. In many states, a valuator may be called upon to distinguish between active appreciation in the business’s value (which is generally subject to division) and passive appreciation (which generally isn’t) when the Continue Reading »
June 17, 2016 | Court Rulings, Valuations
Rowe v. DPI Specialty Foods, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110605 (Aug. 19, 2015) Causation confounds even experienced valuators. A common mistake is not to address it at all and risk exclusion under Daubert. But a recent decision presents the opposite situation: an expert who made causation his be-all and end-all and improperly expanded the role Continue Reading »
June 13, 2016 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations
In this article we will discuss two appellate court cases that teach valuable lessons that apply when valuing a business interest in divorce. Legal precedent related to the use of expert witnesses and business appraisals in divorce tends to vary from state to state. But it’s important to monitor case law across the country for emerging Continue Reading »
June 3, 2016 | Court Rulings, Valuations
In re Dole Food Co., 2015 Del. Ch. LEXIS 223 (Aug. 27, 2015) (Dole III) In sharp contrast to some of its earlier decisions reprimanding financial advisors for generating outcome-driven valuations, the Delaware Court of Chancery recently extolled the conduct of the financial advisor in a highly contested take-private merger. It noted the firm’s “thorough Continue Reading »
May 31, 2016 | Court Rulings, Financial Planning, Tax Planning
Sometimes, estate proceedings continue to be open for years with no end in sight. If you’re an executor or personal representative of an estate, or even an heir, eventually you want closure. There are certain steps that must be taken to close the estate. This article describes the general procedures, but the exact process depends Continue Reading »
May 20, 2016 | Court Rulings, Valuations
Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Systems, Inc., 2015 U.S. LEXIS 91528 (July 14, 2015) What apportionment techniques can a damages expert use to ensure the capture of the proceeds from the infringing features but not the noninfringing components? This question dominated a recent Daubert case in which both parties claimed the rival expert’s apportionment rendered Continue Reading »
May 6, 2016 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations
Lunn v. Lunn, 2015 Tenn. App. LEXIS 515 (June 29, 2015) Tennessee divorce courts seem divided on how to treat the goodwill of a business, specifically on the question of whether to adopt a distinction between enterprise and personal goodwill. The current rule seems to be that, if the business is a solo practice, goodwill Continue Reading »