Corporate Law
At Zayouna Law Firm, we really take the time and go the extra step to get personally acquainted with our clients and their situations.
Your options today were set by documents signed years ago.
Typical Clients
Owner-operated companies, family businesses, and closely held corporations where the shareholders also run the business. That overlap is what makes these disputes difficult: the people arguing are colleagues, often relatives, and frequently the only people who know how the business actually works. Advice has to account for the company continuing to trade while the dispute runs.
Corporate work divides into the documents that prevent disputes and the litigation that follows when they were never drafted, or were drafted badly. A shareholders agreement with a working buy-sell mechanism resolves in weeks what an absent one resolves in years.
A TRUSTED RECORD
OF ADVOCACY AND RESULTS
A TRUSTED RECORD
OF ADVOCACY AND RESULTS
When shareholders stop agreeing
The routes available depend almost entirely on the paperwork. With a shareholders agreement, the dispute is usually about triggering and pricing a buy-sell clause. Without one, a minority shareholder’s options run to an oppression remedy or an application to wind up the company, both of which are slower and more expensive. See shareholder and corporate disputes.
Directors carry personal duties as well, including to act in the best interests of the corporation, and those duties are the source of a good share of the claims that get brought.
Talk With Our Legal Team
If you have any questions and would like to schedule a call with our legal team for a FREE no-obligation consultation, contact us now. During this call, you can ask any questions as it relates to your accident and/or claim and we’ll discuss your options and possible outcomes.
Don’t delay – call us. Our lines are open 24/7.
Service Areas
Corporate Law Lawyer Toronto
At Zayouna Law Firm, we really take the time and go the extra step to get personally acquainted with our clients and their situations.
Corporate Law Lawyer Burlington
At Zayouna Law Firm, we really take the time and go the extra step to get personally acquainted with our clients and their situations.
Corporate Law Lawyer Ontario
At Zayouna Law Firm, we really take the time and go the extra step to get personally acquainted with our clients and their situations.
REAL STORIES. REAL SUPPORT.
Common Questions About Corporate Law
What is a shareholder oppression claim?
A remedy for a shareholder, usually a minority one, whose reasonable expectations have been unfairly disregarded by those controlling the company. Being outvoted isn’t oppression. Being excluded from information, stripped of a role, or squeezed out through selective dividends can be. The remedy is flexible and courts can order a buyout.
Do we need a shareholders agreement?
If more than one person owns the company, yes. The agreement’s real value shows up on the worst day: a death, a departure, a deadlock, or a partner who wants out at a price nobody agrees on. Drafting the exit mechanism while everyone is still cooperating costs a fraction of litigating its absence.
Can I be personally liable as a director?
In defined circumstances, yes. Directors can face personal liability for unpaid wages and certain statutory obligations, and for breaches of their duties to the corporation. Incorporation limits liability, it doesn’t eliminate it, and knowing the exceptions matters before they apply to you.
How long do I have to bring a corporate claim?
Generally two years from when you knew or reasonably should have known about the claim. In shareholder disputes that start date is often contested, because the conduct complained of tends to unfold over a long period rather than on one identifiable day.
Is litigation the only option?
No, and often it shouldn’t be first. Many shareholders agreements require mediation or arbitration before court, and a negotiated buyout usually preserves more value than a judgment does. Where the amounts are modest relative to costs, that matters more than who is right. Speak with the commercial team.
SPEAK WITH A COMMERCIAL LITIGATION LAWYER TODAY
If your business is facing a dispute or potential legal conflict, our commercial litigation lawyers represent businesses and professionals across Ontario in contract disputes, shareholder conflicts, and other complex commercial matters.