Litigation Support

LOST PROFITS CLAIMS

A claim for lost profits can arise from any number of actions or failures to act. Businesses can incur damages as a result of breach of contract, violation of a non-compete agreement, failure to meet contracted-for deadlines, breach of fiduciary duties, defamation, fraud, patent/trademark infringement, or a variety of other negligent or malicious acts. Our experts work closely with business owners and legal counsel to develop a fair and objective lost profits calculation that will withstand cross-examination and any potential challenges from the opposing side.

PROPERTY DAMAGE / BUSINESS INTERRUPTION CLAIMS

When business owners buy an insurance policy to protect their business, they don’t expect to end up in court with their insurer. Unfortunately, insurance claims can often be an adversarial process that ends up in litigation. In an effort to reduce claims fraud, insurance companies will often hire CPAs to investigate the policy owner’s claim and estimate damages. Depending on the complexity of the policy owner’s business or other attributes of the claim, the owner may not receive a fair damages estimate from the insurance company’s CPA.

Our forensic accounting and valuation professionals are experts on the appropriate methodology to be used in determining damages resulting from business interruptions. We have performed reviews of damage calculations prepared by insurance company experts, prepared independent damages calculations, and testified in court.

SHAREHOLDER AND PARTNER DISPUTES

Much like marital splits, shareholder and partner disputes can result in resentment and bitter legal battles. Often the provisions of the shareholder or partnership agreements are the primary determinants of the outcome of these cases, however if the agreements are vague or outdated – or don’t exist at all – years of litigation may result.

We have worked on a variety of shareholder and partner dispute cases, including those involving family-owned businesses and oppressed shareholders. Our experts utilize an in-depth understanding of tax law and valuation concepts to help devise a quick and equitable dissolution.

POST-ACQUISITION DISPUTE DAMAGES

The potential disputes resulting from the challenges and complexity involved in a business acquisition transaction are numerous. Acquisition agreements are often imperfect and open to interpretation, resulting in disagreements after the purchase date. Disputes involving post-closing adjustments for working capital or net assets, earnout provisions, fraud, and material adverse changes are far too common.

Our experts have worked with both buyers and sellers to measure damages resulting from post-acquisition disputes. We have forensic accountants with the capabilities and know-how to identify improper accounting transactions and valuation experts to apply the proper methodologies for estimating damages.

FAMILY LAW AND MARITAL DISSOLUTION

Our experts can assist with all stages of the divorce process. In addition to business valuation and forensic accounting services, we also perform the following fact-finding and consulting services:

• Calculate temporary support amounts
• Prepare preliminary schedules of income and expenses
• Review preliminary support decrees for potential tax savings
• Prepare schedules of disposable income and expenses
• Prepare schedules of marital and separate assets and liabilities
• Prepare property distribution and support proposals
• Determine the federal tax consequence of various proposed property distribution and support agreements.

Testified on behalf of a family business in an economic damages case in which the plaintiff was seeking a recovery for supposed losses in the amount of approximately $1.5 million. We performed an analysis of the plaintiff’s loss calculation and identified significant discrepancies and inconsistencies relating to the facts and methodologies used to estimate the loss. Our analysis determined that the plaintiff suffered no losses and in fact saved money as the result of our client’s actions. A jury agreed with our analysis and awarded the plaintiff with no damages.

Prepared a lost profits analysis and testified on behalf of a client who suffered a fire on premises which resulted in an interruption of business activities. The client did not feel that the loss calculated by the insurance company’s expert was fair and engaged us to perform an independent analysis. As a result of our analysis and testimony, the client was able to obtain a more fair and equitable outcome.

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