Davidson v. United States
Court finds USPS’s unauthorized use of image of Las Vegas Lady Liberty on stamps infringed creator’s copyright and awards damages resulting from a hypothetical mixed license; USPS’s unique licensing history does not limit damages under applicable fair market value measure of damages.
Wall v. Bryan
Appeals court supports trial court’s decision to value departing member’s minority interest on fair market value basis pursuant to state statute rather than method specified in some existing corporate documents; appeals court affirms lower court’s discretion to apply post-Cannon discounts.
Important bankruptcy ruling on how to value oil and gas assets
Valuing oil and gas assets requires special expertise, as is evident from a recent bankruptcy ruling that includes a thorough examination of the parties’ valuation evidence.
Hebert v. Cote
In appreciation in value case, court excludes nonowner spouse’s valuation testimony under Daubert, finding expert’s calculation of “minimum marital component” is not a methodology approved under the applicable SSVS for determining fair market value and also violated other SSVS requirements.
Court Rejects Appreciation in Value Calculation, Citing SSVS Violations
In appreciation in value case, court excludes nonowner spouse’s valuation testimony under Daubert, finding expert’s calculation of “minimum marital component” is not a methodology approved under the applicable SSVS for determining fair market value and also violated other SSVS requirements.
ESOP settlement involves Vermont company
Vermont Business Magazine recently reported that the DOL settled its ESOP litigation involving First Bankers Trust Services (FBTS) and the principals of a Vermont company, Sonnax Industries, the maker of automatic transmission parts.
ESOP case alive (for now), but court limits damages testimony under Daubert
In a developing ESOP case, the government recently suffered a setback when the court agreed with the trustee that portions of the damages testimony the government’s expert proposed failed to hold up under the Daubert reliability prong.
DOL sues over ESOP; trustee launches Daubert attack
In a developing ESOP case, the court recently excluded a chunk of the government expert’s damages testimony and dismissed one of the counts for lack of damages evidence.
Trustee Succeeds in Curtailing DOL Expert Testimony Under Daubert
In ESOP dispute, court partially excludes DOL expert’s damages analysis under Daubert; court finds expert’s market comparable approach to support overpayment claim is unreliable as is expert’s methodology for calculating alleged loss in stock value to existing shareholders.
Acosta v. Vinoskey
In ESOP dispute, court partially excludes DOL expert’s damages analysis under Daubert; court finds expert’s market comparable approach to support overpayment claim is unreliable as is expert’s methodology for calculating alleged loss in stock value to existing shareholders.
New York’s high court OKs minority discount in wrongful dissolution context
New York’s highest court recently weighed in on a long and ugly partnership dispute in which a minority shareholder had unilaterally dissolved the partnership.
Tate v. Tate
Appeals court upholds valuation of minority interest in farm entities based on fair value standard of value; court notes prevailing expert specifically referenced buy-sell agreements that did not contemplate use of discounts in valuing exiting member’s partial interest.
Re: Comments Concerning S Corp Tax-Affecting Article
Comments on the response from James Alerding to an article on tax affecting S corps, which appeared in the December 2017 edition of Business Valuation Update titled “Tax Affecting S Corporations: It’s Not a Matter of Whether. It’s a Matter of When.”
Cobane v. Cobane
In valuing owner-spouse’s minority interest in LLC, trial court “would have been well within its discretion to apply a minority discount,” appeals court says, but it was not error for trial court to reject a discount based on certain questionable actions related to the owner’s interest.
In re Breitburn Energy Partners LP
Court finds debtor is hopelessly insolvent; court values two types of oil and gas assets under NAV and precedent transaction analyses, respectively, finding, in terms of NAV analysis, debtor’s expert is more credible on issues of pricing, forecasting, risking, and predicting costs.
Beyond FMV: Commercial Reasonableness of Physician Compensation Post-MACRA
The influx of federal money over the past several decades to healthcare providers, and the allocation of those dollars, drastically transformed the healthcare delivery system in a way that has had dramatic impact on the economic and financial value of healthcare enterprises, assets, and services. The recent paradigm shift in the reimbursement environment, from volume to value, has had perhaps the greatest impact on the processes and outcomes of valuation assignments, as the reimbursement environment ...
A Response to an Article on S Corp Tax Affecting
This is a response to “Tax Affecting S Corporations: It’s Not a Matter of Whether. It’s a Matter of When,” written by Alan S. Zipp, that appeared in the December 2017 issue of Business Valuation Update.
Humane Soc’y of the United States v. Perdue
Court rejects USDA’s decision to keep paying for pork-promoting trademarks that mostly have become functionally obsolescent and replaced by a different slogan; expert’s replacement cost approach to find current value of trademarks is illogical, says court.
Expert’s FMV Analysis Aligns With Applicable Healthcare Law
In healthcare case centering on Anti-Kickback Statute, court finds government expert’s FMV analysis of physician services, which excludes value and volume of referrals, accords with standard applying to AKS cases and is admissible under Daubert.
Montana Supreme Court Remands for Failure to Assess Tax Implications
High court says trial court erred when it failed to consider tax implications where its final order appears to make sale of family ranch a necessity; evidence suggests there are no other assets with which to buy wife’s shares of ranch corporation at FMV.
Appeals Court Upholds Insolvency Rulings in Transfer Liability Case
Appeals court upholds Tax Court’s transfer liability rulings; there was constructive fraud in that dividend payments to appellant were not compensation for services rendered but were part of a series of transfers leading to company’s insolvency.
Stocker v. Stocker
Trial court did not err in adopting income-based valuation offered by husband’s expert; appeals court calls husband’s attack on his own expert “counterintuitive” where expert explained the value of the company was in its cash flow rather than its assets.
Court Rebuffs Litigant’s Attack on Own Expert’s Income-Based Valuation
Trial court did not err in adopting income-based valuation offered by husband’s expert; appeals court calls husband’s attack on his own expert “counterintuitive” where expert explained the value of the company was in its cash flow rather than its assets.
Tax Court Introduces Formula to Value Donated Remainder Interest
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.
Court Stands Behind 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 ...