Category Archives: Valuations

4th Circuit Upholds Brundle ESOP Valuation and Damages Findings

August 26, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Brundle v. Wilmington Trust N.A. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals just affirmed the district court’s ruling against the trustee in the intensely contested Brundle v. Wilmington Trust ESOP case, including the district court’s valuation and damages findings. The district court concluded that the ESOP trustee had violated its fiduciary duty by causing the plan  Continue Reading »

Appeals Court Upholds Grocery Store Buyout Ruling and Fair Value Determination

July 29, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Lund v. Lund A protracted Minnesota buyout dispute involving the heirs to a local grocery store empire may have reached the end. The state appeals court affirmed most of the district court’s rulings, including the buyout order and fair value determination. The valuation trial featured two veteran appraisers and a judge well versed in appraisal  Continue Reading »

Analysis Holds Up in Divorce Litigation

July 15, 2019 | Court Rulings, Divorce Litigation, Valuations

Hultz v. Kuhn A Maryland divorce case illustrates the difficulties an appraiser charged with valuing a small company in the divorce context may face and how he or she may prevail in court. The wife was the sole shareholder in a tree services business. The issue at divorce was the size of the monetary award  Continue Reading »

Tax Court’s Exelon Ruling, Turning on Compromised Appraisals, Withstands Appeal

June 3, 2019 | Court Rulings, IRS Regulation, Valuations

Exelon Corp. v. Commissioner In 2016, Tax Court Judge Laro ruled on the legitimacy of a series of Section 1031 transactions involving Exelon, an Illinois-based energy giant. The court agreed with the Internal Revenue Service that Exelon was liable for a deficiency of nearly $432 million as well as an $87 million accuracy penalty. The  Continue Reading »

‘Mixed-Purpose’ Valuation Is Discoverable, New York Court Rules

May 20, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Noven Pharmaceuticals v. Novartis Pharmaceuticals When it comes to document discovery, the “why and “when” matter greatly, as a recent New York ruling centering on a valuation report makes clear. The issue was whether a valuation the defendant had commissioned months before the plaintiff filed suit was privileged or protected by the work-product doctrine. No  Continue Reading »

Court Says Daubert’s ‘Gatekeeper’ Role Favors Inclusion, Not Exclusion

May 6, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Ferraro v. Convercent, Inc. This Daubert case illustrates how courts may interpret the role of “gatekeeper” differently. The dispute featured a company that provided software-based services. The defendants claimed the plaintiff’s expert was unqualified because he lacked the necessary experience valuing that type of company, but the court found the law did not require this  Continue Reading »

Expert’s Inability to Defend Income Analysis ‘Is Decidedly Troubling,’ Court Says

April 22, 2019 | Valuations

Judges are alert to incongruities in valuations, as is clear from a recent condemnation case in which landowners hired three experts to calculate the compensation owed to them. The court excluded all experts under Daubert, and it had particularly harsh words for the valuation expert who was unable to support critical elements of the valuation.  Continue Reading »

$6 million award in lawsuit exposes rift in prominent Maine business family

April 8, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Tucker Cianchette has won a nearly $6 million verdict against his father over the failed buyout of a Yarmouth car dealership, exposing a rift in one of Maine’s most prominent business families. Cianchette sued his father and stepmother, Eric and Peggy Cianchette, on a range of charges after the deal went sour. A Cumberland County  Continue Reading »

Courts Are Alert to Valuations Unmoored From the Facts

March 25, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Cristofano v. Chahal Perhaps experts feel pressure from the hiring attorney or the client, perhaps they are unable to access key documents or information, or perhaps they simply lack valuation and litigation experience. Whatever the reason, case law provides too many examples in which valuation and damages experts have proffered opinions that were plainly counterfactual  Continue Reading »

In Controversial Move, Tax Court Tackles ‘Double Inclusion’ Problem 

March 11, 2019 | Court Rulings, Valuations

Estate of Powell v. Commissioner  Given the unfavorable optics of a recent case, the Tax Court’s finding that the value of assets transferred from the decedent to a family limited partnership was includible in the value of the decedent’s gross estate is not surprising. What makes the decision noteworthy is that a majority of judges,  Continue Reading »