BV and litigation seminar in New Haven, Conn., September 26
There’s a unique opportunity to hear from a veteran valuation expert with many years of experience in court, and BVWire will be there! Appraiser Jim Alerding (Alerding Consulting LLC), who has testified in over 400 cases, will present a full-day seminar, Business Valuation and Litigation.
Unadjusted deal price best represents fair value, Court of Chancery says
In a statutory appraisal case featuring a publicly traded company, the Court of Chancery, after an exhaustive evaluation of the sale process, found the deal price was the best evidence of fair value.
Appraisers fare best at surviving a Daubert challenge
In 2018, appraisers had the lowest exclusion rate (38%) among all types of financial experts facing a Daubert challenge, reveals the PwC survey, “Daubert Challenges to Financial Experts.”
Distinguishing Gross, Tax Court adopts tax-affected valuation of PTE
In an ingenious move, the U.S. Tax Court, ruling on an Oregon gift tax dispute, accepted the taxpayers’ tax-affected valuations of pass-through entities (PTE) without overturning Gross.
Expert’s Reasonable Royalty Properly Captured Value Added by Plaintiff’s Invention
Court denies defendants’ post-trial challenge to jury award; court finds award was based on a theory of reasonable royalty, not lost profits, as defendants claim; plaintiff expert’s royalty rate properly captured value added by plaintiff’s patent and relationship between plaintiff and defendants.
Simo Holdings, Inc. v. H.K. uCloudlink Network Tech. Ltd.
Court denies defendants’ post-trial challenge to jury award; court finds award was based on a theory of reasonable royalty, not lost profits, as defendants claim; plaintiff expert’s royalty rate properly captured value added by plaintiff’s patent and relationship between plaintiff and defendants.
In re Stillwater Mining Co. 2017 0385 JTL
In statutory appraisal of public company, court relies on deal price; presigning sale process was “suboptimal,” but post-signing market check was “effective”; there was an argument for upward adjustment to deal price based on an increase in the company’s value between merger announcement and deal closing.
Despite Less-Than-Optimal Sale Process, Court Relies on Deal Price for Fair Value
In statutory appraisal of public company, court relies on deal price; presigning sale process was “suboptimal,” but post-signing market check was “effective”; there was an argument for upward adjustment to deal price based on an increase in the company’s value between merger announcement and deal closing.
Trial court favors DOL in Vinoskey ESOP trial
In the closely watched Vinoskey ESOP litigation, the trial court recently issued a long decision that found all the defendants liable.
Estate of Aaron Jones v. Commissioner
In gift tax dispute, Tax Court adopts estate expert’s valuation of two related PTEs, including expert’s tax affecting; court distinguishes Gross and later cases; issue is not whether to tax affect but how; estate expert’s tax affecting was “more accurate than [IRS’] blunt zero-rate approach.”
Keeping Gross Alive, Nimble Tax Court Accepts PTE Tax Affecting
In gift tax dispute, Tax Court adopts estate expert’s valuation of two related PTEs, including expert’s tax affecting; court distinguishes Gross and later cases; issue is not whether to tax affect but how; estate expert’s tax affecting was “more accurate than [IRS’] blunt zero-rate approach.”
9th Circuit Upholds Tax Court’s Valuation of Intangibles in Big Transfer Pricing Case
Appeals court affirms Tax Court ruling favoring taxpayer’s CUT method over IRS’ DCF to value various intangible assets transferred to European subsidiary; governing regulations limit definition of “intangible” to independently transferrable assets, excluding residual business assets, court says.
Amazon.com, Inc. v. Commissioner (II)
Appeals court affirms Tax Court ruling favoring taxpayer’s CUT method over IRS’ DCF to value various intangible assets transferred to European subsidiary; governing regulations limit definition of “intangible” to independently transferrable assets, excluding residual business assets, court says.
Damages Expert’s ‘Before/After’ Lost Profits Analysis Bolsters Plaintiff’s Defamation Case
In defamation and business disparagement case against former employer, appeals court affirms jury award to cardiovascular surgeon compensating for injury to reputation and lost profits; expert’s before/after analysis was supported by evidence, and expert ruled out other causes for lost business.
Mem’l Hermann Health Sys. v. Gomez
In defamation and business disparagement case against former employer, appeals court affirms jury award to cardiovascular surgeon compensating for injury to reputation and lost profits; expert’s before/after analysis was supported by evidence, and expert ruled out other causes for lost business.
Expert comments on Vinoskey ESOP ruling
ESOP appraisers are questioning the technical aspects of the Vinoskey and Brundle rulings and asking what the recent rulings may mean for the future of employee ownership plans.
Strong win for DOL in Vinoskey ESOP trial
Difficult times for the ESOP community.
In re Appraisal of Columbia Pipeline Grp., Inc.
In statutory appraisal action featuring publicly traded company, court relies on deal price for fair value; although flawed, sale process, when compared to process in three key high court decisions endorsing deal price, does not undermine validity of deal price; no adjustment for synergies.
Court Endorses Unadjusted Deal Price as Fair Value Indicator Despite Flaws in Sale Process
In statutory appraisal action featuring publicly traded company, court relies on deal price for fair value; although flawed, sale process, when compared to process in three key high court decisions endorsing deal price, does not undermine validity of deal price; no adjustment for synergies.
Global BVU News and Trends September 2019
Business valuation news from a global perspective.
Court of Chancery favors unaffected market price over other fair value indicators (Part 2)
When the Delaware Court of Chancery recently decided to rely on the unaffected market price for fair value, in a major statutory appraisal case, it provided an in-depth critique of the experts’ traditional valuation analyses, which valuators want to be familiar with.
DOL Prevails on All Claims Against ESOP Trustee and Owner/Seller
Trial court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay for company stock; trustee failed to adequately respond to red flags in ESOP appraisal and did not act solely in the interest of ESOP, court says; owner is liable for accepting price he knew to be above stock’s fair market value.
Pizzella v. Vinoskey (I)
Trial court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay for company stock; trustee failed to adequately respond to red flags in ESOP appraisal and did not act solely in the interest of ESOP, court says; owner is liable for accepting price he knew to be above stock’s fair market value.
Avoiding Ethics Violations When Working on Divorce (or Other) Cases
A session at the AAML/BVR National Divorce Conference did a good job explaining how attorneys and financial experts must think about ethical issues that may arise while working on a divorce (or any other) engagement so as to ensure they abide by their profession’s rules of ethics and work together in an effective and efficient way.
Attorneys and Valuers Strengthen Ties at AAML/BVR Divorce Confab
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, expert witnessing, rigged valuations, and other interesting topics were presented at the National Divorce Conference (in Las Vegas May 8-10) co-sponsored by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and Business Valuation Resources (BVR). Here’s a recap of some important takeaways.