As reported in The Connecticut Law Tribune, “Oral Surgeon Wins $3.1M in Breach of Contract Suit.” Although you can read the details of the particular lawsuit in Karen Ali’s article, note the important lesson from this case. The terms and conditions of an agreement to buy or sell a business must be followed, including post-closing obligations each party owes the other.
When picking a business partner, be at least as careful in performing due diligence as you would when selecting a potential spouse for marriage. The monetary stakes are often higher in the business arrangement.
Also make sure that you have a signed professionally prepared buy-sell agreement so that if one party decides to leave, you’ve already put in place a road map to be followed that preserves business continuity and ideally does not adversely affect the relationship between the parties upon separation.
