Category Archives: Court Rulings

Louisiana Court of Appeals Disallows a Discount for Trapped-In Capital Gains Taxes and a Reduction in Receivables for Collectability

August 29, 2022 | Court Rulings

ShopRite, Inc. v. Gardiner The Court of Appeals was asked to review the trial court’s determinations of fair value for the shares of stock of a withdrawing shareholder. Shawne Gardiner was a withdrawing shareholder in ShopRite Inc. (3.8% interest) and Tobacco Plus Inc. (3.95% interest). Gardiner sent a formal notice of withdrawal under the Louisiana  Continue Reading »

5th Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Tax Court Finding That Taxpayer Gifted a Percentage of Partnership Interests and Not a Fixed Amount

August 10, 2022 | Court Rulings, Tax Planning

Nelson v Commr., 2021 “Mary P. Nelson and James C. Nelson appeal the Tax Court’s denial of their petition for a redetermination of a deficiency of gift tax issued by the commissioner of Internal Revenue for the tax years 2008 and 2009. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.” Facts. Mary Pat and James Nelson sought  Continue Reading »

A Louisiana Appeals Court Decides That the Trial Court Abused Its Discretion in Choosing the Method of Determining Damages

July 28, 2022 | Court Rulings

Dettenhaim Farms, Inc. v. Greenpoint Ag, LLC This decision of the appeal court of Louisiana took up the alleged damages of the soybean crop and the trial court’s findings on the matter. The appeal court found that the trial court abused its discretion when it chose an expert’s methodology for determining damages, “as another methodology  Continue Reading »

Federal Appellate Court, 4th District, Affirms District Court as to Violation of ERISA but Allows Offset of Debt Forgiveness in Determining Damages

July 15, 2022 | Court Rulings, Debt & Financing

Walsh v. Vinoskey This case was an appeal from the well-publicized district court case regarding the violation of ERISA regarding the sale of stock by the company owner to a company ESOP. The appellate court affirmed that the district court did not err, finding that the owner had extensive knowledge of the company and prior  Continue Reading »

One-Third Partner in Real Estate Sued to Have the Partnership Dissolved Then Asked to Vacate His Dissolution Assertion, Which the Appellate Court Denied

June 30, 2022 | Court Rulings

Guttman v Guttman Bruce Guttman (Bruce), Phillip Guttman (Phillip), and Judith Douglas (Judith) are siblings and co-equal general partners of the Guttman Family Limited Partnership (the partnership), which owns real estate in Los Angeles. Bruce sued to dissolve the partnership, and Phillip and Judith initiated a statutory procedure to buy Bruce out. Believing the appraisals  Continue Reading »

In a Divorce Case, the California Court of Appeal Rejects Discount for Taxes Not Immediate and Specific But Allows a DLOM

June 16, 2022 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation

Harvey v. Harvey This was an appeal and across-appeal in a California divorce case. Michael and Cynthia Harvey were married in 1988. Three years later, Michael formed Enviro Tech ChemicalServices Inc. (Enviro Tech). By 2010, Harvey’s jointly owned 825 shares of EnviroTech, representing nearly 70% of the outstanding stock. In 2011, they entered into a  Continue Reading »

Minnesota Appellate Court Upholds Prejudicial Conduct to Oppressed Shareholder and Affirms Disallowance of Marketability Discount

June 2, 2022 | Court Rulings

Gerring Props. v. Gerring The appellate court of Minnesota considered appeals and cross-appeals in a series of shareholders’ disputes. The appellants are Gerring Properties Inc. (GP) and Quality CarWash Operations Ltd. (QCW). QCW operated a family-owned car-wash facility in Minnesota, leasing the land and equipment from GP. The Gerring brothers and some children now “accuse  Continue Reading »

California Appellate Court Affirms Exclusion of Testimony From Witness as Being Based on Inadmissible Hearsay Evidence

May 19, 2022 | Court Rulings

HMH Enters. v. TAG Enters The plaintiffs contended the trial court erred in granting two of the defendant’s motions to exclude evidence of the plaintiff’s damages. The appellate court affirmed. The lawsuit concerned the contemplated sale of a laundromat business. The defendant, TAG (Landlord), owns the Cudahy Shopping Center. Minwasa, a tenant of TAG’s, sought  Continue Reading »

The Nebraska District Court Is Reversed in Its Determination of Fair Value Since It Applied Discounts, Determined Going Concerned as the Premise of Value, and Allowed Tax Liability for Deferred Tax

May 4, 2022 | Court Rulings

Bohac v. Benes Serv. Co. In this case, the Supreme Court of Nebraska affirmed, vacated in part, and reversed and remanded with directions. The holdings of the Supreme Court included: (1) The district court erred in its determination of fair value (FV) in allowing discounts; and (2) the disallowance of attorney’s fees was affirmed. After  Continue Reading »

The Jury Verdict Cannot Stand Because It Was Based on an Expert’s Incompetent Report, and a New Trial Is Ordered

April 20, 2022 | Court Rulings

State Route 00700, Section 21H v. Bentleyville Garden Inn, Inc. The jury’s verdict in the eminent domain trial could not stand because the jury relied solely on the valuation of the PennDOT’s expert, “which was incompetent.” He limited the damages to the partial taking property and did not consider the after-taking damages to the remaining  Continue Reading »