0:04
by the way I have a lot of interesting
0:05
cases I don’t think we have enough time
0:07
to talk about all of them but the one
0:09
that really stands out is a business
0:11
dispute a shareholder dispute between
0:13
two brothers uh that owned a trucking
0:16
company in a far south suburb of the
0:19
Twin Cities they had been in business
0:21
together for about 20 years they had
0:23
inherited the business from their
0:24
parents uh although their parents were
0:26
no longer in the business they were kind
0:28
of involved in it overseeing things
0:30
things got along f for 20 years both of
0:33
the shareholders at some point got
0:34
married and um when the wives came into
0:37
the picture behind the scenes uh trouble
0:40
ensued and litigation ensued and I wound
0:44
up representing the older of the two
0:45
brothers we want up being involved in
0:47
three lawsuits involving them uh there
0:50
was a fourth lawsuit threatened uh where
0:52
the brothers were going to bring in the
0:54
parents into the lawsuit we ultimately
0:56
globally resolve that but one of the
0:58
most memorable times of that litigation
1:00
is I went out to their Farm in this
1:02
Southern suburb to take a look at some
1:04
of the personal property that the
1:05
brothers own together and trying to
1:07
separate that and the two brothers
1:09
almost came to fisticuffs and myself and
1:11
the other lawyer had a stand these are
1:13
big guys uh the other lawyer and myself
1:16
had to get in the middle of these two
1:17
that were going to go to blows that’s
1:19
never happened in any other case that
1:20
I’ve had so I I remember that one quite
1:22
well yeah it’s interesting when I get
1:25
into to business divorce so separation
1:27
of owners from companies which I do a
1:29
lot of when it involves family members
1:32
um I I like personally I like to get
1:36
through the dispute in a way that the
1:39
family members maybe could go sit down
1:41
at a Thanksgiving dinner table in the
1:44
future and actually have a civil
1:46
conversation with one another um so that
1:48
you know they they’re first and foremost
1:51
relatives their brothers their mothers
1:52
and daughters and fathers and cousins
1:55
and in my view uh those are people that
1:58
shouldn’t let business get between them
2:00
and a long-term uh good relationship so
2:03
that’s a that’s a high uh high on my
2:07
list of to-dos when I’m working with u
2:09
certainly with family-owned businesses a
2:12
lot of the litigation matters I get
2:13
involved with are just friends or
2:16
business acquaintances or whatever it’s
2:18
a little different story there but when
2:20
it’s family members I I am very um very
2:24
careful in how I deal with the other
2:27
side uh with respect um and and not in a
2:31
way that’s going to further inflame things