Gary R. Jones and Danielle M. Vranian received an arbitrator’s award on behalf of a withdrawn member of a limited liability company operating as a title and settlement company (the “LLC”). The plaintiff, who helped form the LLC in 2008, was effectively forced out of the business when his partners developed other outside companies and siphoned the LLC’s business to the new companies. Under the LLC’s Operating Agreement, the plaintiff was entitled to the repurchase of his ownership interest. When the LLC refused to pay the plaintiff the fair value of his ownership interest, he filed suit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Ultimately, the parties agreed to engage in binding arbitration to resolve the dispute surrounding the value of the plaintiff’s ownership interest in the LLC as well as the value of his equitable interest in the new companies. During the arbitration, the LLC and its remaining principals argued that the plaintiff was only entitled to recover the fair market value of his ownership interest, subject to numerous discounts. After a two-day hearing in December 2019, the arbitrator issued a final, non-appealable award in favor of the plaintiff. The total award exceeded $1.1 million.
