Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Business Law
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In this case, Christopher Mathiesen, the owner of a limited liability company, appealed a court's order dismissing his complaint against Kristi Kellogg, who was alleged to be a co-owner of the company. The court dismissed the complaint after it was consolidated with another case involving the same parties and the same basic underlying facts. The main issue was whether the Nebraska Supreme Court had jurisdiction over Mathiesen's appeal of the order dismissing his complaint. The court found that it did not have jurisdiction because the order was not a final order that decided all the claims between all the parties. Instead, it was an order that only dismissed some of the claims and did so without the required express direction for the entry of judgment and express determination that there was no just reason to delay an appeal. The court also held that when cases are consolidated in Nebraska, they become a single case, and so the order dismissing the complaint did not fully dispose of the entire case. As a result, the court dismissed Mathiesen's appeal for lack of jurisdiction. View "Mathiesen v. Kellogg" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment granted by the district court in favor of a non-shareholder officer and a non-shareholder former director in this suit brought by Landlord seeking to pierce the corporate veil of a commercial tenant (Tenant), who failed or refused to pay a judgment against it, holding that the district court did not err.Landlord sued Tenant for nonpayment of rent and recovered a judgment. When Landlord was unable to recover on its judgment it commenced the instant action seeking to pierce Tenant's corporate veil and hold a non-shareholder officer and a non-shareholder former director personally liable for the judgment against Tenant. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Defendants and dismissed the case with prejudice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding the factors did not weigh in favor of veil piercing. View "407 N 117 Street v. Harper" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court calculating the fair value of certain shares following the Supreme Court's remand in an earlier appeal and setting forth a payment plan, holding that there was no merit to the minority shareholder's assigned errors.A minority shareholder filed a petition for judicial dissolution of Benes Service Co. (BSC), after which BSC exercised its right to purchase the minority shareholder's stock. Following remand, the district court calculated the fair values of the shares at issue and set forth a payment plan. The minority shareholder appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there was no basis to conclude that the district court's payment plan was an abuse of discretion; and (2) there was no error in the failure to require BSC to pay interest. View "Bohac v. Benes Service Co." on Justia Law

Posted in: Business Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing certain defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that the defendants' contacts were too attenuated for them to have purposefully established minimum contacts within Nebraska.The out-of-state defendants at issue on appeal facilitated the sale of allegedly defective software installed by a local mechanic in four of Plaintiff's trucks. Plaintiff asserted against them claims for strict liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranties. The district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, concluding that Plaintiff failed to make a prima facie showing of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the quality and nature of the defendants' activities related to this action did not support personal jurisdiction. View "Wheelbarger v. Detroit Diesel ECM, LLC" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court dismissed in part and reversed in part Appellant's appeal of the district court's rulings finding that Jerald Schreiber was unjustly enriched and ordering him to pay an additional $400,184 to a limited liability company (LLC) he owned in equal shares with his brother, Steven Schreiber, holding that the district court erred in part.Steven brought a complaint seeking the dissolution of the LLC at issue. The district court ordered dissolution and directed a receiver to liquidate the LLC's assets, including two buildings owned by the company but located on property owned by Jerald. Because Jerald made the sole offer to purchase the buildings, the parties agreed that the district court should order the receiver to accept the offer but that Steven and the LLC could continue to pursue a claim of unjust enrichment. The district court concluded that Jerald had been unjustly enriched and denied Jerald's motion asking the district court to provide further directions to the receiver. The Supreme Court (1) dismissed the order denying Jerald's motion for further directions for lack of jurisdiction; and (2) reversed the district court's order finding that Jerald was unjustly enriched, holding that the district court erred. View "Schreiber Brothers Hog Co. v. Schreiber" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding that the Nebraska Real Estate License Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-885.01 to 81-885.55, barred Choice Homes, LLC's claims regarding a failed purchase agreement, holding that the district court did not err.Choice attempted to buy certain real estate from Owners in order to sell it to Buyers, but after the closing failed, Buyers purchased the property directly from Owners. Choice brought this action seeking damages related the purchase claims. Choice also asserted a defamation claim stemming from an online review posted by Buyers. The district court granted summary judgment against Choice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Act barred Choice's nondefamation claims; and (2) Choice was not defamed by the review at issue because it did not state or imply a false statement of fact. View "Choice Homes v. Donner" on Justia Law

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The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from the order of the district court finding that the recommendation of a single-member special litigation committee, which was appointed to investigate and determine whether it was in an LLC's best interests to pursue a certain derivative action, was beyond the committee's statutory authority, holding that the court's order was not a final order under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1902.A minority shareholder brought suit in a derivative action on behalf of the manager-managed limited liability company at issue in this case. The committee appointed by Defendants determined that it was in the LLC's best for the derivative action to be settled on terms approved by the committee, which were to conduct a majority vote on how certain issues should be resolved. The district court concluded that the committee's recommendation for disclosure to and vote of the members was beyond the committee's statutory authority and ordered the parties to attempt mediation. Both parties appealed. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the court's order for mediation and further recommendation was not a final order under section 25-1902. View "Tegra Corp. v. Boeshart" on Justia Law

Posted in: Business Law
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In this dispute involving a limited liability company (LLC) and its members the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court ordering an accounting, declaring the membership rights of the parties, quieting title to certain real estate, and establishing a resulting trust, holding that there was no merit to the assigned errors on appeal.On appeal, one member of the LLC asserted that the district court erred in denying a request for a jury trial on its legal counterclaims. The LLC cross-appealed, asserting that the trial court erred in denying a request to dissociate one of the members. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that all assignments of error were without merit. View "Schmid v. Simmons" on Justia Law

Posted in: Business Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and reversed in part the decision of the district court determining the fair value of an estate's 14.84 percent of common stock in a family-owned business, holding that the district court erred in its determination of the fair value of the company.After Leonard and Marlene Benes, the owners of the company, died, the personal representative of Marlene's estate filed a petition for dissolution, and the company responded with an election to purchase in lieu of dissolution. The trial court found that the fair value of 14.84 percent of the company was worth $2,886,790 and declined to award Plaintiff expenses, attorneys fees, or prejudgment interest. The Supreme Court remanded the case in part, holding (1) the district court did not use the correct definition and subjected the estate's shares to discounts, and therefore, the court erred in its determination of the fair value of BSC; and (2) the court correctly denied attorneys fees and other expenses. View "Bohac v. Benes Service Co." on Justia Law

Posted in: Business Law
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The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court determining the fair value of certain shares to be purchased by a corporation to be $467 million and awarding the petitioning shareholder $256 million in prejudgment interest, holding that this appeal was without merit.The successor president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Streck, Inc. implemented a sales process that failed to produce an offer acceptable to the majority shareholder, and the corporation was not sold. The majority shareholder sued Streck and its president and CEO, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and shareholder oppression. Streck opted to purchase the petitioning shareholder's shares and, after a trial, the court determined the fair value of the shares and awarded the petitioning shareholder prejudgment interest. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Streck's appeal was without merit. View "Wayne L. Ryan Revocable Trust v. Ryan" on Justia Law

Posted in: Business Law