WA Business Law Blog

I have written previously on Washington’s 2022 Amendment to the LLC Act to permit voluntary withdrawal (see here).  Withdrawal continues to plague LLC members because, while many LLC agreements discuss withdrawal caused by death, disability or bankruptcy, most LLC agreements do not solve the challenges created by a voluntary withdrawal. I find it helpful to… Read More

This blog frequently laments the lack of Washington case law across a number of LLC and corporate topics. One such topic includes records requests in both a corporate and LLC context. The scant authority makes every new case on the subject worthy of discussion—enter Lott on behalf of Blue Mountain Farms, L.L.C. v. Lott, No.… Read More

In a previous blog titled “Digital Assets under the Uniform Commercial Code,” posted on November 29, 2022, I discussed the fact that digital assets, including virtual currencies, electronic money, and nonfungible tokens, are classified as general intangibles under the Uniform Commercial Code (the “UCC”) and that the current UCC does not adequately address the secured… Read More

I previously wrote on this subject here and write this to provide a couple more differences between Washington’s LLC Act (the “Act”) and RULLCA. The Act allows for an LLC to be formed without a member (a so-called “shelf LLC”): “a limited liability company is formed when its certificate of formation is filed by the… Read More

LLCs are either “member-managed” or “manager-managed.” Determining which management structure applies is significant—it impacts everything from fiduciary duties to the authority to act on behalf of the LLC. The easiest way to determine management structure is to look at the LLC agreement. However, when the LLC agreement is silent on this issue (or does not… Read More

Washington law provides a board of directors discretion to make distributions to its shareholders. However, this discretion is not unfettered. This post will explore the limitations on distributions for which Boards should be aware to protect themselves from personal liability. Limitations on Distribution A board’s ability to make distributions to its shareholders is limited by… Read More

Corporations and their boards frequently find themselves confronted with litigation from their own shareholders. Shareholder litigation usually involves either a shareholder demand (via a letter) or a filed complaint alleging the shareholder need not make demand in the first place (e.g. demand is “futile”). Often times, the success or failure of a shareholder’s claims simply… Read More

I read Berman v. Tierra Real Estate Group, LLC (515 P.3d 1004) (2022) and was surprised when I read the following: “As Washington's act was substantially modeled on the ULLCA, we may look to the ULLCA to assist in our interpretation. Dragt v. Dragt/DeTray, LLC., 139 Wash. App. 560, 575, 161 P.3d 473 (2007)*.  I… Read More

When individuals wish to join forces in business and form a limited liability company, they should put together a written operating agreement for their entity, and take care to consider each provision carefully, as the final document will govern their rights and responsibilities and will fundamentally steer the course of the relationship between them. One… Read More