Seikaly & Stewart PC v. Fairley et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT. Filing fee received: $400.00, receipt number PHX 0970-9418622, filed by Seikaly & Stewart PC. (submitted by Michael Pianin) (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit, # 8 Exhibit, # 9 Exhibit, # 10 Civil Cover Sheet)(REK)

Failure to Establish Buy-Sell Agreements Fatal Error for Business Partners
J. Michael Nelson
December 5, 2011
All business partnerships start with the best
intentions, but many do not end that way. This
is why buy-sell agreements are so important,
and every company with multiple partners or
shareholders should have one the moment the
business is formed.
A buy-sell agreement is a contract between
partners in a business that dictates who can buy
a departing partner’s share of the business and
establishes a fair price for the partner's stake. If
a co-owner wants out of the business, wants to retire, wants to sell his shares to someone else,
goes through a divorce, or dies; buy-sell agreements act as a “premarital” arrangement to protect
everyone's interests, setting the price and terms for buyout options.
You, Brian, and Dan and two partners opened your company in Farmington Hills 20 years ago,
but the business never established a buy-sell agreement. The company is now worth millions, but
Brian one of your partners has died of a sudden heart attack, and his young wife of two years
now wants an active management role in business decisions. At the same time, Dan the
remaining partner decides to retire and turn his shares of the company over to his son who never
finished high school. Only a buy-sell agreement 20 years earlier would have prevented what may
now be years of costly, bitter litigation. But all is not lost. It may be possible to have a mutually
trusted accountant, like the firm’s accountant, arbitrate a solution.
What do you do? Sound impossible… Think again… Only a buy-sell agreement 20 years earlier
would have prevented years of litigation.
Any Michigan business in the Farmington Hills area with partners (or shareholders in a closelyheld corporation) and no buy-sell agreement, or those in the Farmington Hills area entering into
such an arrangement for the first time. a multiple partnership who do not needs to consult a
lawyer experienced in business matters so that problems can be avoided before they become
insurmountablethe services of a Farmington Hills area Business Lawyer for a buy-sell agreement
are gambling with their future interests.
.
In the Farmington Hills area or within Michigan call Seikaly & Stewart, P.C. at [phone],
or email them at [e-mail].