RERI Holdings I, LLC v. Commissioner (RERI I)
Tax Court rules for IRS in disallowing deduction for charitable contribution involving remainder interest in leased property; requisite appraisal summary omits vital information, and court’s valuation formula shows donor made gross valuation misstatement.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF APPRAISERS: Business Valuation Committee Special Topics Paper #4: The “Willing Buyer” and the “Willing Seller” in Fair Market Valuea
The International Glossary of Business Valuation Terms, June 2001, developed jointly by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Society of Appraisers, Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, and Institute of Business Appraisers, defines fair market value as “The price, expressed in terms of cash equivalents, at which property would change hands between a hypothetical willing and able buyer and a hypothetical willing and able seller, acting at ...
Trustee Liable for Inadequate ESOP Valuation Vetting
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for allowing overpayment for company shares; trustee rushed transaction and failed to scrutinize financial advisor’s valuation ignoring red flags related to projections, use of control premium, beta, rounding up of values.
Absence of Noncompete Drives Goodwill Valuation in Liquidation Sale
In case of voluntary corporate dissolution under judicial supervision, appeals court finds receiver’s minimum bid value was based on correct standard of value (liquidation value) and calculated auction sales price reflected all elements of a going concern ...
ESOP Trustee Evaded Fiduciary Duties by Delegating Valuation
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay; trustee “delegated” valuation to ESOP valuator without inquiring into valuation components, including projections, and without exploring “glaring” gaps (industry analysis) in valuation report.
Brundle v. Wilmington Trust N.A. (II)
Notwithstanding errors related to the court’s liability and damages determinations, the court rejects trustee’s motion for reconsideration as an inappropriate effort to introduce new legal theories and a late attempt to present a competing damages methodo ...
Court Defends Earlier ESOP Liability and Damages Rulings
Notwithstanding errors related to the court’s liability and damages determinations, the court rejects trustee’s motion for reconsideration as an inappropriate effort to introduce new legal theories and a late attempt to present a competing damages methodo ...
In Big Buyout Ruling, Minnesota Court Rejects DLOM in Calculating Fair Value
In a forced buyout, court says experts were too partisan to their clients, compromising value analysis; court performs its own valuation using DCF to determine fair value of grocery business and rejects DLOM because no unfair transfer of wealth occurs.
Lund v. Lund (I)
In a forced buyout, court says experts were too partisan to their clients, compromising value analysis; court performs its own valuation using DCF to determine fair value of grocery business and rejects DLOM because no unfair transfer of wealth occurs.
In re PetSmart, Inc.
In statutory appraisal, Chancery decides to “defer” to deal price, citing a robust sales process and well-functioning market; petitioners’ DCF analysis was not a useful valuation tool where it was based on, “at best, fanciful” management projections.
‘Fanciful’ Projections Make DCF an Unreliable Tool in Appraisal Proceeding
In statutory appraisal, Chancery decides to “defer” to deal price, citing a robust sales process and well-functioning market; petitioners’ DCF analysis was not a useful valuation tool where it was based on, “at best, fanciful” management projections.
Solvency Determination Turns on Income Recognition Analysis
Court credits trustee expert’s analysis of debtor’s balance sheet, finding the expert showed debtor’s practice of immediate recognition of initial franchise fees as revenue violated GAAP and debtor was continuously insolvent; transfers are avoidable.
Redmond v. NCMIC Fin. Corp. (In re Brooke Corp.)
Court credits trustee expert’s analysis of debtor’s balance sheet, finding the expert showed debtor’s practice of immediate recognition of initial franchise fees as revenue violated GAAP and debtor was continuously insolvent; transfers are avoidable.
Another ESOP trustee in trouble over valuation
For the second time in March 2017, a court found an ESOP trustee liable for causing the plan to overpay. The most recent decision chronicles in exhaustive detail how the trustee failed the plan in terms of ensuring that no more than fair market value would be paid for the seller’s shares.
SEC’s Daubert Challenge to Securities Valuation Testimony Fizzles
In an SEC case requiring valuation of restricted securities, court admits most of the testimony of parties’ experts; experts need not be specialists in given field and need not demonstrate familiarity with USPAP or SSVS to qualify under Daubert, court fin ...
SEC v. Nutmeg Group, LLC
In an SEC case requiring valuation of restricted securities, court admits most of the testimony of parties’ experts; experts need not be specialists in given field and need not demonstrate familiarity with USPAP or SSVS to qualify under Daubert, court fin ...
Eleventh Circuit Affirms Tax Court’s Valuation of Trust’s Interest in LLC
Affirming FMV conclusion, appeals court says Tax Court did not err in focusing less on details of methodology parties’ appraisers used than on larger issue of whether hypothetical seller would be able to force distribution of majority of LLC’s assets.
Estate of Koons v. Commissioner (Koons II)
Affirming FMV conclusion, appeals court says Tax Court did not err in focusing less on details of methodology parties’ appraisers used than on larger issue of whether hypothetical seller would be able to force distribution of majority of LLC’s assets.
ESOP trustee’s failure to vet valuation causes significant overpayment
Inadequate trustee performance was at the center of a recent case, featuring a nontraditional ESOP structure. The court found that, if the trustee had engaged with the underlying valuation, it would have discovered numerous weaknesses and prevented the ESOP from overpaying for the company stock.
ESOP Trustee Evaded Fiduciary Duties by Delegating Valuation
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay; trustee “delegated” valuation to ESOP valuator without inquiring into valuation components, including projections, and without exploring “glaring” gaps (industry analysis) in valuation report.
Perez v. First Bankers Trust Services, Inc.
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for causing plan to overpay; trustee “delegated” valuation to ESOP valuator without inquiring into valuation components, including projections, and without exploring “glaring” gaps (industry analysis) in valuation report.
Market Data Approach ‘Particularly Unsuitable’ to Valuing Feature Film
Court rejects expert’s movie valuation based on percentage of cost of making it; market data approach is “particularly unsuitable” because simply averaging price of films and cost to create them does not yield information about value of particular film.
Brundle v. Wilmington Trust N.A. (I)
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for allowing overpayment for company shares; trustee rushed transaction and failed to scrutinize financial advisor’s valuation ignoring red flags related to projections, use of control premium, beta, rounding up of values.
Trustee Liable for Inadequate ESOP Valuation Vetting
Court finds ESOP trustee liable for allowing overpayment for company shares; trustee rushed transaction and failed to scrutinize financial advisor’s valuation ignoring red flags related to projections, use of control premium, beta, rounding up of values.
Absence of Noncompete Drives Goodwill Valuation in Liquidation Sale
In case of voluntary corporate dissolution under judicial supervision, appeals court finds receiver’s minimum bid value was based on correct standard of value (liquidation value) and calculated auction sales price reflected all elements of a going concern ...