DE Chancery: value of preferred stock grounded in contract
Back in 2001, it must have seemed more than reasonable to provide investors an exit within 10 years. That’s what Morgan Joseph Holdings, an investment bank, promised its preferred stockholders in its Certificate of Incorporation: that in 10 years—on July 1, 2011—the company would redeem the preferred stock at $100 per share. Fast-forward through a [...]
Reminder: Expert reports still discoverable in Tax Court
The long-awaited amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, made effective at the beginning of this year, have largely been “great,” according to attorney Edward M. Robbins (Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C.), who presented in last week’s “Lawyers Roundtable,” part 2 of BVR’s 2011 Tax Summit, moderated by Jay Fishman (Financial Research Associates). [...]
Caught in the valuation crossfire, judges fire back with Rule 706 experts
It’s not unusual for a federal court to appoint a technical expert as an independent advisor pursuant to Rule 706 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. But now, in two high-pressure and high-profile legal settings, judges have taken the unusual step of appointing a 706 expert to testify specifically on valuation—in one case, to calculate [...]
Which business valuation certification is the best for expert witnesses?
If you’re attempting to hire a financial expert, you’ve run into the alphabet soup of certifications in the US. Four different organizations certify business appraisers (the American Society of Appraisers, the AICPA, NACVA, and the Institute of Business Appraisers). And, that’s before you get into the world of fraud examiners, CFAs, Ph.D’s, and all the [...]
Recent tax court case popular in the blogosphere
Gallagher Estate v. Comr., (T.C. Memo. 2011-148) engendered at least two spirited analyses online last week. On the blog The Business Valuation Reviewers Handbook attorney Paul Hood remarks: This is a very interesting valuation case because if you didn’t read the opinion except for the numbers, you’d have concluded that the estate’s appraiser prevailed! But [...]
Litigators should pay particular attention to brand valuation in commercial cases
James Gregory (CoreBrand, LLC) wrote in BOARDMEMBER.com ten reasons why brand valuation is so significant in many lost profits, damages, dissenting shareholder, and other commercial law matters. Brand valuation: legitimizes investment provides an objective measure of effort creates accountability aligns leadership identifies growth opportunities predicts market shifts identifies competitive opportunity and advantage informs M&A or [...]
Google outlines legal strategy in Oracle expert challenge
BVLaw Alert has blogged a couple of times about Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., on the Java code allegedly found in Android software and on Google strategy. Oracle hired Boston University professor Iain Cockburn—the extensively published academic—to calculate and prove the alleged damages. Our reading of Google’s pre-Daubert challenge filing indicates that they will attack his credentials. For [...]
Cross-examination of a business valuation expert
This is a guest article by BVR Advisory Board member Lynne Z. Gold-Bikin, a partner at Wolf Block Schorr& Solis-Cohen in Norristown PA Business valuations are a complex undertaking; experts in the field understand and are facile in concepts of valuation, types of valuation, (market approach, income approach, and asset approach), revenue rulings, capitalization rates, [...]
2011 Litigation Services Handbook just released
The Litigation Services Handbook, Fourth Edition is often referred to as the litigation bible. The handbook includes all aspects of litigation services, including current environments, the process itself, a wealth of cases, how to prove damages, and practical considerations of court appearances. The just released 2011 cumulative supplement contains new and updated material, including: Civil [...]
Your clients’ management projections are key to credible expert testimony
“This Court has consistently recognized the importance of management’s contemporaneous projections because the outcome of a DCF analysis depends heavily on the projections used in the model,” declared the Delaware Chancery Court in S. Muoio & Co. LLC v. Hallmark Entertainment Investments, 2011 WL 863007 (March 9, 2011). “Valuations that have ignored or altered management’s [...]
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