Practice Area
Operating Agreements and Owner Disputes
Stephen Nault advises on operating agreements, governance clean-up, manager authority, buyout pressure, deadlock, fiduciary allegations, and closely held business disputes where preserving leverage matters.
Owner conflicts are rarely just legal problems. They are control, information, and continuity problems.
Who this is for
- LLC members and managers dealing with authority questions, accounting tension, or strategic deadlock.
- Businesses that need cleaner operating documents before growth, financing, or ownership changes.
- Owners trying to contain a dispute before it harms leases, vendors, employees, lenders, or customers.
Common problems
- Operating agreements that do not match the way the company actually operates.
- Disputes over member rights, distributions, access to records, or who can bind the company.
- Deadlock around capital calls, sale decisions, or the future of the business relationship.
- Personal relationship breakdowns spilling into governance and asset-control disputes.
- Real estate holding entities where owner conflict threatens the property itself.
How I approach it
The work begins with the governing documents, ownership economics, and actual operating reality. The goal is to identify pressure points quickly, separate emotion from business risk, and decide whether the matter calls for negotiated restructuring, buyout strategy, or formal dispute action.
Common mistakes
- Using online forms that do not fit the capital structure or operational reality of the company.
- Waiting until access to books, accounts, or assets is already compromised.
- Escalating the conflict personally before clarifying authority and documentary support.
- Ignoring how the dispute affects real estate entities, leases, guaranties, or third-party contracts.
If this describes your situation
The intake form takes about three minutes. You'll hear back within one business day if the matter is a fit.
Common questions
Do you handle both preventative operating agreement work and active disputes?
Yes. Many disputes are made worse by thin or outdated agreements, so the practice includes both front-end governance work and conflict-driven problem solving.
Can you help if the business owns investment property?
Yes. Owner disputes around real estate holding companies often need both governance analysis and a practical understanding of the underlying property operations.
Is litigation always the next step?
No. Some matters are best handled through structured negotiation or targeted written demands. Others need faster formal action because business control or assets are at risk.
Focused practice pages
Short, intent-matched intake pages on specific issues within this area:
Related Reading
Articles on this topic.
Owner Disputes
Deadlock in a Closely Held Business: Decision Points Before Escalation
In Tennessee LLC disputes, real deadlock usually shows up before open collapse through stalled approvals, bank and records control fights, conflicting authority, and pressure on day-to-day operations.
Owner Disputes
When the Operating Agreement No Longer Matches Reality
Many Tennessee LLC disputes begin when the operating agreement says one thing but the business has drifted into something else. That mismatch often becomes a control, proof, and records problem before anyone files anything formal.
Owner Disputes
Books, Records, and Account Access: Early Control Red Flags
In Tennessee LLC disputes, books-and-records problems are often treated as bookkeeping issues when they are really early control issues about status, authority, and who gets to define the company record.
If any of this sounds like your situation
The intake is structured and short — name, contact, opposing party, brief description. You'll hear back within one business day.