It’s been another year of important case law developments in business divorce controversies. I’m pleased to present my 14th annual list of the past year’s ten most significant cases.
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It’s not unusual to find buy-out provisions in shareholder and operating agreements that commit the pricing of the buy-out to the “final and binding” determination of one or more appraisers. The same agreements also may include broad arbitration clauses.
So what happens when a dispute erupts over the appraisal process and the resulting appraisal? Does an arbitrator’s authority begin and end with a determination whether the appraisal process adhered to the agreement? Or can the arbitrator take it a step further, notwithstanding the agreement’s assignment of finality to the appraiser’s determination, by taking valuation evidence and awarding a buy-out price that differs from the one challenged?