In its operating agreement, a Limited Liability Company, or LLC, may specify a termination date or other event that will result in the dissolution of the LLC. On the termination date or occurrence of another specified event, the LLC is “dissolved” (Corporations Code section 17707.01(e)), with only limited powers to “wind up” its affairs (Corporations Code section 17707.04). Generally, after the dissolution has occurred, a certificate of dissolution must be filed with the California Secretary...

Recently, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in 616 Croft Ave., LLC v. City of West Hollywood (2016) 3 Cal.App.5th 621, in which the issue for review was whether the City of West Hollywood’s in-lieu housing fee was an exaction. While the Supreme Court did not rule for or against the homebuilder claiming city fees were invalid, the decision not to hear the case affirms precedent. Just five months earlier, the Supreme Court...

We recently wrote about contract integration clauses, which will usually state that the contract is “completely integrated,” and the parol evidence rule, which works to keep out prior or contemporaneous statements or writings that would modify the contract.  In this post we discuss Riverisland Cold Storage, Inc. v. Fresno–Madera Production Credit Assn., 55 Cal. 4th 1169 (2013).   In short, Riverisland states that the parol evidence rule is not a bar to evidence that goes...

A key part of understanding why an integration clause is important is understanding what the parol evidence rule is. What is the Parol Evidence Rule? Generally speaking, the parol evidence rule bars (or keeps out) extrinsic evidence of a prior or contemporaneous agreement.  In English, this means that once parties to a contract sign and agree to the terms of the contract, the parol evidence rule will keep the parties to the agreement from trying to submit...

Section 16600 of the California Business and Professions Code prohibits contracts from restraining individuals “from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind.”  While the reach of Section 16600 is broad (recently reaching as far as the  Delaware Court of Chancery), it has traditionally been applied only to employment contracts or agreements that contain non-competition or non-compete clauses where the former employee is prevented from working with a competitor. But what about...

Previously on the blog, we defined what constitutes a cardinal change in a construction contract. Importantly, California is one of the few states that differentiates between a cardinal change and the related legal theory of  “abandonment.”  It is important for property owners and contractors to understand the difference and the implications of both. A cardinal change is a change that goes beyond the permitted changes detailed in the contract.  It is usually a request so far outside...

As a business law firm, we often deal with partnership disputes.  We have shared information on our blog on how to protect against partnership disputes, as well as tips for solving them such disputes.  Unfortunately, not all disputes can be prevented or solved.  In these circumstances, partnerships often dissolve. When that is the case, , and a partition action may be necessary to distribute partnership assets. In a partition action, known as a partition of partnership property, a court...

Previously on the blog, we discussed ambiguous and conflicting terms in contracts. Most contracts include clauses which provide interpretation rules for ambiguous and conflicting terms. In the absence of such a clause (or if the provisions of the clause do not resolve the conflict), certain California statutes, and case law interpreting and applying those rules, will provide the method of determining  which, if any, ambiguous or conflicting terms can be enforced. Generally speaking, an ambiguous term can reasonably...