Look Inside the Compendium >>

• A.C. v. J.O.
  In divorce case, New York trial court prefers excess earnings over price-to-revenue method to value wife’s dental practice, because the former accounts for the business’s lack of tangible assets—a fact specific to professional offices in New York where re ...
• Ackerman v. Ackerman
  In reasonable compensation case, trial court discredits salary surveys not sufficiently “fine-tuned” to area and type of practice of the subject practitioner.
• Ahern v. Ahern
  Maine clarifies its position on enterprise versus personal goodwill.
• Alberts v. HCA, Inc.
  District court affirms bankruptcy court’s valuation of hospital under income approach and finds its treating a $20.6 million capital transfer as surplus rather than a necessary asset for operations is not double counting and is reasonable under the facts ...
• Amaraneni v. Amaraneni
  Court finds doctor/husband has no professional goodwill in his urgent care clinic, when it is not an extension of his medical practice and he provides no regular, specific services there.
• Amy N. Holterman v. Robert K. Holterman
  The New York Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision not to shift income generating capacity associated with the distributive award from the husband’s medical license to the wife for child support purposes. The court found that reassignment of ...
• Banchefsky v. Banchefsky
  Divorce court limits professional goodwill of dental practice to the value of a non-compete agreement allocated in the sale of the practice during the proceedings.
• Barnes v. Barnes
  Court affirms income-based valuation of husband’s dental clinic, including deduction for non-compete attributable to associate, but finds lack of signs that husband intended to sell practice precludes use of DLOM.
• Bergquist v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
  Tax Court approves 64% combined discounts (advocated by IRS) for valuing medical service corporation slated for conversion to a non-profit.
• Bocek v. JGA Assocs., LLC
  Court rejects expert’s loss of business opportunity and lost earnings calculations, finding capitalization of earnings method is inappropriate for valuing company with unstable earnings and lost salary projections are based on “incomplete use” of data.
• Bohme v. Bohme
  In a divorce case involving dental practice, appeals court says using income stream “as a tool” to value a professional business and then using it “as actual income for a spousal support calculation” does not per se amount to impermissible double dipping.
• Brickner v. Brickner
  Frustrated by lack of consensus among expert valuations of marital business, Ohio Court of Appeals adopts the only valuation (cost approach) where the experts had limited agreement.
• Brown v. Brown
  Trial court’s determination of medical practice value in divorce fails for lack of sufficient evidentiary findings ...
• Bunkers v. Bunkers
  Ohio court considers joining majority rule on distinguishing enterprise from personal goodwill in valuing professional associations in divorce.
• Burstein v. Burstein
  Appeals court affirms trial court’s valuation of medical practices based on buyout provisions where wife’s expert made no attempt to ascertain businesses’ FMV by any other valuation method.
• Caracci v. Commissioner (I)
  The issue was whether the value of the Sta-Home Health Agency, Inc. (SHHA) and related entities transferred into S corporations exceeded the consideration paid.
• Caracci v. Commissioner (II)
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that the Tax Court erroneously valued the assets of a non-profit corporation that converted to a for profit corporation and rendered a decision for the taxpayer.
• Caudill v. Roberts
  A divorcing spouse sues her attorney for failing to obtain an appraisal of limited partnerships.
• Chattree v. Chattree
  Court admits expert’s testimony despite his failure to appear for scheduled deposition where husband’s refusal to provide necessary corporate information delayed expert’s completion of the business valuation and says any error in the opinion was “invited”
• Covert v. Covert
  The issue in this case was the value of an optometry practice.
• Davison v Margolin Winer & Evans
  Plaintiff Edward T. Davison, MD and Scott J. Ratner, MD were each 50% shareholders in Edward T. Davison and Ratner entered into a series of shareholder agreemeents, the last one of which was dated June 1996.
• Delaware Open MRI Radiology Associates, P.A. v. Kessler, et al.
  “Must-read” opinion from Delaware Chancery Court on tax affecting, DCF discounts, and more ...
• Dental Health Associates v. Zangeneh
  Court disallows loss of goodwill value in recovery for dental practice, breach of covenant not to compete.
• Derby v. Commissioner
  Tax Court denies charitable deductions for donation of intangible goodwill from taxpayers’ medical practices to newly formed healthcare corporation.
• Dickert v. Dickert
  South Carolina declines to follow majority rule on disposition of professional practice goodwill in divorce.
• Doctors Hospital of Hyde Park, Inc. v. Desnick et al.
  This adversary case relates to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case filed by Chapter 11 Trustee for Debtor Doctors Hospital of Hyde Park Inc. (“Doctors Hospital” or “Trustee”). The Adversary Complaint pleaded a total of 28 counts (“Complaint”).
• Duke v. Duke
  Appellate court affirms $5.4 million value for business that supports emergency services department in hospitals, finding that it appropriately accounted for the risks of losing customer contracts as well as the absence of a non-compete agreement with the ...
• Fausch v. Fausch
  The valuation issues in this marital dissolution were whether a discount for lack of marketability should have been applied to husband's minority interests in two medical-practice businesses, and whether a buy-sell provision in a third business was determ ...
• Gallo v. Gallo
  Appeals court finds Ohio statute requires trial court to consider income from all sources in calculating spousal support and overrules Heller I to extent Heller imposes a flat prohibition against double dipping; mandate is to ensure fairness and equity.
• Garcia v. Garcia
  Divorce court finds restrictive shareholder agreement not binding on valuation of medical practice, although question of discounts due to restrictions depends on particular facts of the cases.
• Gaskill v. Robbins (I)
  Kentucky considers joining the majority of jurisdictions that distinguishes personal from enterprise goodwill.
• Gaskill v. Robbins (II)
  Kentucky Supreme Court holds with majority rule that distinguishes enterprise goodwill (marital property, divisible) from personal goodwill (non-marital, non-divisible) in valuing professional practices for purposes of divorce.
• Gaskill v. Robbins (III)
  Court of Appeals confirms trial court’s reliance on a valuation performed closer to date of petition (rather than date of decree), finding a variety of factors in support, including spouse’s dissipation of funds from the sole proprietorship.
• Gentile v. Gentile
  Appellate court affirms lower court’s Fair Market Value (FMV) determination of husband’s S corp. medical practice, which incorporates goodwill value the wife’s expert calculated based on the Goodwill Registry.
• Gibbons v. Gibbons
  619 A.2d 432 (R.I. Jan. 27, 1993). Per curiam.
• Gremillion v. Nashville Gastrointestinal
  Court and expert witnesses debate meaning of “book value” of medical practice in buy-sell provision, and whether or not the term is net of liabilities.
• Gupta v. Gupta
  Trial court appropriately values three rural medical practices and imaging center at $780,000 based on expert testimony that includes marketability discount and excludes professional goodwill.
• Hartline v. Hartline
  Appeals court says distinction between professional goodwill and future earnings capacity “evanesces” when valuing solo professional practice; trial court erred in adopting value based on guideline transaction method that considered professional goodwill.
• Healthcare v. Orr
  Appeals court says noncompete/nonsolicitation clauses accompanying sale of solo practitioner’s medical practice to large healthcare provider are unenforceable where buyer allocated zero dollar value to practice’s goodwill; court strikes down injunction.
• Heaton and Eadie, PSC v. Corneal Consultants of Indiana, P.C.
  Court considers whether business appraiser’s valuation of a buy/sell agreement fall within the statute of limitations pertaining to accountants and accounting firms ...
• Helfer v. Helfer (I)
  Courts that follow majority rule re: distinction of enterprise/professional goodwill in divorce need to make a compete record of valuation findings and rationale.
• Helfer v. Helfer (II)
  Trial court has the discretion to rely primarily on rebuttal expert’s testimony to assign a zero value to the enterprise goodwill of a chiropractic practice.
• Hissa v. Hissa (II)
  Appellate court upholds $553,000 valuation for medical practice based on trial court’s finding that by withholding financial information from wife’s expert, husband ended up discrediting his own expert’s valuation.
• Holiday Medical Center v. Weisman (I)
  New Jersey court considers whether “highest and best use” is appropriate standard in shareholder dissent cases.
• Howard v. United States (I)
  Federal district court finds that when a dentist incorporates his practice, including a covenant not to compete, the subsequent sale generates professional goodwill that is a corporate asset and its value is dividend income to the dentist.
• Howard v. United States (II)
  Ninth circuit upholds finding that a non-competition agreement effectively conveyed a dentist’s personal goodwill to his C corporation, such that it became the corporation’s asset for income tax purposes.
• In re Cole
  Bankruptcy Court says differing standard of value in divorce and bankruptcy proceedings precludes use of divorce valuation of husband’s interest in dental practice; but valuation based on shareholder agreement accords with Chapter 7 liquidation analysis.
• In re Edgewater Medical Center
  Bankruptcy court considers whether pervasive Medicare fraud, actual but undetected at valuation date, affects solvency.
• In re Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corp. (I)
  BV expert challenged under Daubert for reliance on third-party appraisals.
• In re Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corp. (II)
  Bankruptcy Court conducts extensive valuation findings of hospital in fraudulent transfer case.
• In re Greater Southeast Community Hospital Corp. (III)
  In fraudulent conveyance action, court admits errors in its own discounted cash flow valuation of hospital, but denies motion to reconsider, finding the trustee has the burden to present competent expert evidence regarding reasonably equivalent value.
• In re Marriage of Alexander
  Court accepts “Multiattribute Utility Model” in calculating percentages of personal and enterprise goodwill for a professional practice.
• In re Marriage of Baker
  Trial court erred by excluding the value of a noncompete attributable to the institutional goodwill of surgical practice.
• In re Marriage of Ferkel
  The appellate court affirmed $42,000 valuation of the wife's solo dental practice and rejected approach by the husband's expert, which included "goodwill and other irrelevant factors."
• In re Marriage of Gelman
  A medical partnership’s exclusive contract to provide anesthesiology services to a hospital is an intangible asset, but since buy-sell agreement limits wife’s interest to $1.00, the court finds she has no ownership interest in the business and the contrac ...
• In re Marriage of Porter
  Expert successfully uses “double-dipping” argument to persuade court to adopt reasonable compensation figure for determining maintenance.
• In re Mauer
  Appeals court affirms trial court’s decision favoring asset approach for valuing owner spouse’s medical practices; unlike income approach, it avoids accounting for owner spouse’s future earning twice, in asset valuation and determination of alimony.
• In re Med Diversified, Inc. (I)
  In a case of first impression in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding, the narrow issue was whether Scott P. Peltz, the proposed business valuation expert witness for Addus Healthcare Inc. (Addus), was qualified.
• In re Med Diversified, Inc. (II)
  Bankruptcy court excludes expert business valuation report for “pervasive bias,” but also reveals possible bias against BV profession as a whole.
• In re PolyMedica Corp. Securities Litigation (I)
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit determined the appropriate definition of an efficient market when determining whether the fraud-on-the-market presumption may be used when considering certification of a class of plaintiffs. It further deter ...
• In re Polymedica Corporation Securities Litigation (II)
  Federal court defines market efficiency, the five factors that prove it—and the financial analysis that does (and does not) meet the burden of proof.
• In re the Marriage of Stanley T. Hino v. Christine Schmid
  The California Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s valuation of goodwill in a medical practice at zero. The goodwill was valued using the capitalization of earnings approach, wherein the husband’s income as of the date of judgment was compared wit ...
• In re the Marriage of Watterworth
  Issue is whether court erred in valuing orthodontic practice based on formula in buy-sell agreement.
• In re the Marriage of Wilson
  Trial court's adoption of husband's expert's value of professional goodwill adopted because of expert's use of all five recognized valuation techniques.
• In the Matter of Cottrell
  Appellate court affirms trial court valuation of dental practice that included “substantial” goodwill value but did not apportion it between personal and business goodwill, noting that the appealing party bears the burden at trial to establish this amount ...
• Keane v. Lowcountry Pediatrics
  South Carolina court considers applying standard of goodwill valuation in marital dissolutions to partnership dissolutions.
• Kia v. Imaging Sciences International
  Federal district court limits expert calculation of damages for breach of oral contract to the terms of the alleged agreement and bars testimony based on any written offers or industry practice.
• King v. King
  Kentucky appellate court remands case for consideration of enterprise versus personal goodwill components in a medical practice, pursuant to just-passed case that conforms with majority rule on the division of professional practice goodwill in divorce.
• Kortum v. Johnson
  Court considers whether a buy-sell agreement can “bargain away” statutory remedies available to minority shareholders in oppression cases.
• Kowalska-Davis v. Davis
  Massachusetts Court of Appeals acknowledge trend in that state to find an equitable solution to the problem of the double dip in divorce, involving making separate findings regarding the income of the owner-spouse from the business and the income/assets o ...
• LaSalle National Bank Association v. Paloian
  Federal district court reviews bankruptcy decision for hindsight bias in determining insolvency, including expert opinions that allegedly used inflated company-specific risk premium, improper tax affecting, and ignored contemporaneous market data.
• Lock Realty Corp. v. U.S. Health, LP
  An otherwise qualified valuation expert loses Daubert challenge for failing to consider all three valuation approaches in assessing healthcare industry lease.
• Lunn v. Lunn
  Appeals court finds enterprise goodwill is not a marital asset when the business is a sole proprietorship and orders trial court to produce a valuation of husband’s solo dental practice without “consideration of professional or enterprise goodwill.”
• Lusins v. Cohen
  Failure to obtain an independent valuation of medical business costs plaintiff in the long-run.
• M.A. Hajianpour, M.D., P.A., et al. v. Khosrow Maleki P.A., et al.
  Court considers whether DCF analysis could apply to professional practice that is no longer a going concern.
• Mandell v. Mandell
  Texas court holds unsigned buy-sell agreement controls value of husband’s medical practice, a privately held professional association, in divorce.
• May v. May
  At issue in this case is the nature of husband's practice goodwill. Testimony by both experts at trial established the goodwill as "personal."
• McKee v. McKee
  Tennessee appellate court finds that patient records constitute professional goodwill value and are not a divisible asset in divorce.
• McReath v. McReath (I)
  Wisconsin appellate court holds that all salable professional and corporate goodwill in a private practice is divisible in divorce.
• McReath v. McReath (II)
  Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds the standard that all saleable goodwill in a professional practice, as evidenced by a non-competition agreement, is a divisible marital asset; and that it is not “double-counting” to base a maintenance award on the income p ...
• Miller v. Miller
  Georgia Supreme Court adopts majority rule regarding disposition of goodwill value of professional practice.
• Natchez Regional Medical Center v. Quorum Health Resources, LLC
  Court affirms that Daubert does not require an expert to be certified in accounting or another specialty, so long as he/she possesses the requisite knowledge and experience; and it admits testimony of hospital turnaround and restructuring expert in case a ...
• Nevarez v. Nevarez
  Court accepts buy-sell value for husband’s interest in a healthcare partnership where wife fails to offer expert business appraisal.
• Nieman v. Nieman
  Appeals court says consideration of tax consequences related to owner-spouse’s business is “too speculative” because owner has no plan to sell in near future; trial court improperly assumed current tax rates and business interests would remain constant.
• Nowzaradan v. Nowzaradan
  By following state standard of valuing goodwill in divorce, appraisers built a solid record of medical practice valuation, confirmed on appeal.
• O'Donnell-States v. States
  Trial court did not err in valuing dental practice at an amount less than the husband's prior buy-in value; and did not improperly include personal goodwill value when neither expert included its value ...
• Paloian v. LaSalle Bank
  7th Circuit finds that tax affecting and discounts are inappropriate in an insolvency analysis and that a trustee for securitized assets is an “initial transferee” for purposes of the Bankruptcy Codes' provisions on preferential transfers.
• Pearlstein v. Pearlstein
  Trial court finds medical practice valuation that includes goodwill more persuasive, when the firm had been in business more than 50 years and had three locations.
• Pellom v. Pellom
  Challenge to medical practice valuation focuses on physician productivity, goodwill, benchmark data, and normalized earnings adjustment.
• Peltzer v. Peltzer
  Appellate court rules doctor husband who knew his expert was the only appraiser of his practice cannot blame trial court for relying on expert’s unclear discount in valuation.
• Physicians Dialysis Ventures, Inc. v. Griffith
  Court articulates qualifications that make business appraiser nearly “bulletproof” under Daubert challenge.
• Pulse Medical Instruments, Inc. v. Drug Impairment Detection Services, Inc.
  Court admits expert’s “lost opportunity value analysis” for calculating damages, finding that Georgia-Pacific reasonably royalty damages and lost profits are not exclusive remedies in patent infringement cases.
• R.V.K. v. L.L.K.
  One of the primary issues in this marital dissolution was the value of the parties' stock in a medical practice group and related medical equipment business.
• Reedy-Huffman v. Huffman
  State high court affirms trial court’s determination that husband’s naturopathic practice had zero goodwill value based solely on husband’s testimony that a similar practice in the area failed to attract a buyer despite being on the market for a year.
• Rogers v. Alexander
  Defrauding home healthcare agency results in award of over $2.5 million to owners, based on “thorough” valuation evidence.
• Root v. Root
  The issue in this marital dissolution was the valuation of the wife's interest in Big Horn Basin Pathology, Inc.
• Rughani-Shah v. Noaz
  Without any evidence of shareholder oppression, court finds that buy-out price for terminated shareholder of 3-person pediatric practice is limited to book value, as defined in the buy-sell agreement.
• Schickner v. Schickner
  Appeals court says state law does not bar use of minority share discount in divorce cases and declines to impose a bright-line rule; rather, the trial court has to consider interest holder’s level of control and likelihood of sale before use of discount.
• Settele v. Settele
  Appeals court rejects claim that accounts receivable used in asset-based business valuation by wife’s expert are analogous to future income stream for purposes of arguing double dip in light of income determination for spousal support award.
• Sharp v. Sharp
  In using the capitalization of earnings method to value husband’s medical practice, the wife’s expert did not improperly include personal goodwill, the appellate court finds; the valuation rested on actual earnings with some adjustment for reasonable comp ...
• Signature Health Center, LLC v. State of New York
  Court denies $2.4 million in lost profits to Medicaid provider based on failure of expert damages to examine all the reasons for the plaintiff’s losses, aside from the defendant’s delayed reimbursement.
• Singley v. Singley (III)
  Court amends opinion in response to amicus curiae brief, but refuses to distinguish between personal and enterprise goodwill where evidence does not.
• Slater v. Slater
  Oregon court adopts majority rule, finding it improper to predicate the value of a professional practice on a noncompete.
• Sommers v. Sommers
  Nancy Sommers appealed the judgment entered in a divorce action brought by Dennis Sommers. We conclude the trial court erred in valuing Dennis Sommers' orthodontic practice.
• St. Alphonsus Diversified Care, Inc. v. MRI Associates, LLP
  Appeals court validates expert’s use of defendant’s net profits as measure of damages in usurped business opportunity case; hypothesizing a facility that the plaintiff could have had and the profits it might made in competition “would not make sense.”
• Stewart v. Stewart
  Idaho declines to make the distinction between enterprise and personal goodwill in valuing a professional practice in divorce, holding all goodwill is marital property.
• Surgem, LLC v. Seitz
  Appellate court affirms trial court’s rejection of expert opinion where expert only prepared a “calculation of value,” based on the method the client determined and without the materials necessary to opine on the “actual fair valuation” of the company.
• Taheri v. Khadavi
  Court affirms over $8 million in lost profits damages due to fraud in sale of medical surgery center, based on plaintiff’s expert evidence and absence of contradicting evidence from defendants.
• Thomas John Farrell v. Olivia Farrell
  The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the valuation of the appreciation in a controlling interest in a closely held company that was the wife’s non-marital property. It valued the stock by reference to a recent transaction involving a minority interest i ...
• U.S. Renal Care v. Jaafar
  Texas Court reverses $750,000 jury award for value of patient account receivables for lack of reliable expert evidence, including faulty assumptions and failure to review underlying patient and payer data.
• University of Pittsburgh v. Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
  District court finds that entire market value rule applies only when unpatented features are combined with patented invention, denying this and numerous other objections by defendant to plaintiff’s reasonable royalty calculations.
• Wallace v. Kalniz
  Appellate court affirms pretrial decision to strike economist expert’s opinion as to business loss under Rule 702; although the trial court erred when it found the expert unqualified to perform a business valuation, it was right to find his calculations ...
• Ward v Healthsouth Corp
  Before the court is HealthSouth Corporation and Diagnostic Health Corporation’s Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, New Trial, and/or Remittitur, filed October 26, 2006 (doc. no. 292). Upon review of the parties’ submissions in regard the motion, t ...
• Weisman v. Schiller DuCanto and Fleck
  In a post-dissolution malpractice action, appraiser may not apply enterprise goodwill in valuing a professional practice if contrary to state law at the time of the divorce.