Overview

About David C. Roberts

About David C. Roberts

David C. Roberts, Chair of the firm, devotes his practice to handling complex commercial litigation matters such as fraud, fraudulent transfers, trade secrets, and restrictive covenant litigation, with particular emphasis on business partnership and shareholder disputes in New Jersey.

Often called business divorce litigation, the business owner disputes Dave routinely handles include shareholder and LLC member oppression, business fraud, embezzlement, owner freeze-outs, dissenter’s rights cases, and suits seeking to dissociate or expel an owner from a company. He focuses on resolving matters through mediation, if that approach fits the client’s goals and objectives, but is an experienced trial attorney who can effectively try any case that can’t otherwise be resolved. In 2007, Dave launched the firm’s Shareholder Disputes in New Jersey Law Blog “Business Divorce in NJ,” which addresses minority shareholder disputes in New Jersey. He also writes and lectures extensively on this topic.

Dave often represents a minority shareholder seeking to assert his or her rights to relief, usually seeking a forced buy-out. And just as often, he represents majority owners of businesses defending against such claims. This experience gives him insight into how his adversary in a case may be thinking and strategizing. Dave has handled business divorce litigation involving companies in almost every industry, especially family-owned businesses. As a result, he understands the unique challenges involved in suing, or being sued by, a relative.

Due to his unique ability to help companies navigate complexity and avoid litigation, Dave has served as outside general counsel to several small-to-midsized companies. He has served in this capacity for almost two decades for Old Bridge Chemicals and Madison Industries, two leading companies in the animal feed additive industry. Dave also has handled complex litigation matters for the Diocese of Metuchen.

Additionally, Dave is a founder and former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Monmouth Beach Education Foundation and has served on the Monmouth Beach Board of Education for 12 years.

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Education
Professional Affiliations
Bar Admissions

Media

Blog/ December 29, 2023

Litigation Within the Family is Sometimes Unavoidable

Blog/ November 20, 2023

My Business Partner Didn’t Fire Me But Cut My Salary in Half. What Are My Rights?

Blog/ October 26, 2023

Can the Minority Force the Majority to Sell?

Blog/ September 29, 2023

Business Divorce Litigation Affords More Remedies Than Just a Buy-Out

Blog/ September 11, 2023

Issues to Consider When Taking on New Business Partners

Blog/ August 8, 2023

The New Jersey Minority Shareholder Oppression Statute Covers More Than Just Oppression

Blog/ July 31, 2023

What if I am Fired After Suing for Shareholder Oppression?

Blog/ June 22, 2023

Proving Oppression and Obtaining a Buyout is Not as Simple as “Cashing Out”

Blog/ May 30, 2023

How Aggressive Should You Be With a Disloyal Business Partner?

Blog/ April 27, 2023

What to Do When You Suspect Falsified Documents by Majority Shareholders

Blog/ March 30, 2023

What if My Company Benefits from Shareholder Embezzlement or Fraud?

Blog/ February 23, 2023

Airing a Company’s Dirty Laundry May Hurt the Company. Can It Help Minority Shareholders?

Blog/ January 6, 2023

A Business Divorce Lawyer Can Help Build Your Case, Even Before It’s Filed

Blog/ December 6, 2022

Focus on the Relief, Not the Label

Blog/ October 28, 2022

Financial Wrongdoing Usually Leaves a Trail

Blog/ September 30, 2022

Remedies Other Than a Buyout for Shareholder or Member Oppression

Blog/ August 31, 2022

Even Fifty Percent Owners Should Set Realistic Goals in a Business Dispute

Blog/ July 29, 2022

When Do You Have “Enough” Facts to File Business Divorce Litigation?

Blog/ June 30, 2022

Even a Non-Competing Side-Business Can Be Problematic for a Minority Shareholder

Blog/ May 31, 2022

Avoid Minority Shareholder Suppression Claims with a “Business Divorce Audit”

Blog/ April 29, 2022

When Your Business Partner Uses Company Money to Purchase Assets for Himself, You Have a Remedy – If You Don’t Wait Too Long

Blog/ February 28, 2022

Trusting Your Business Partner Does Not Mean Never Looking at the Books

Blog/ January 28, 2022

Dealing With Delays in Realizing Your Business Partner Is Oppressing You

Blog/ January 18, 2022

Failure to Pay Distributions May Be Shareholder Oppression, but Not Always

Blog/ November 30, 2021

Don’t Focus On Who the Majority Shareholders Hire to Defend Your Business Divorce Litigation

Blog/ October 29, 2021

Some Business Partners Are Blaming COVID as an Excuse for Bad Behavior

Blog/ August 9, 2021

My Business Partner May Not Be Stealing, but Are They Breaking the Law?

Blog/ June 28, 2021

New Jersey Shareholder Oppression: Mismanagement

Blog/ May 7, 2021

Are the Costs and Disruptions of Business Divorce Litigation Worth It?

Blog/ March 29, 2021

Business Divorce Litigation Considerations: Strength in Numbers or Should You Go It Alone?

Blog/ March 16, 2021

Business Divorce Attorneys Often Must Help Their Clients Navigate the Emotions of Inter-Family Litigation

Blog/ January 29, 2021

Is It Realistic to Expect a Legal Fee Award in a Shareholder Oppression Lawsuit?

Blog/ January 4, 2021

Get Creative To Win Your Business Divorce Litigation

Blog/ November 23, 2020

If Your Partner Won’t Give You (Accurate) Information, Subpoena the Accountant

Blog/ October 21, 2020

Pushing for the Documents You Need May Be Costly, but Not Pushing May Cost More

Blog/ September 29, 2020

What to Do When Your Business Partner Keeps Freezing You Out of COVID Zoom Meetings

Blog/ July 22, 2020

Avoid Business Divorce Litigation by Protecting Yourself up Front

Blog/ June 30, 2020

Don’t Let Your Business Partner Use the Pandemic as an Excuse to Keep You in the Dark

Blog/ June 3, 2020

Majority Shareholder Threats May Backfire

Blog/ April 30, 2020

Don’t Let Your Business Partner Use the COVID-19 Pandemic to Hide Misconduct

Blog/ March 27, 2020

While Filing a Shareholder Oppression Claim Might Be the Last Thing on Your Mind Right Now Due to the COVID-19 Virus, Waiting to File Could Potentially Prejudice Your Valuation

Blog/ March 10, 2020

In an Oppression Case, Think Strategically and Don’t File Motions You Know You Can’t Win

Blog/ February 25, 2020

Hidden Competition: A Common Form of Oppression

Blog/ February 18, 2020

Mediation Can Be an Especially Effective Tool in Business Divorce Litigation

Blog/ February 11, 2020

As a Minority Shareholder, Can I Quit and Still Sue for a Business Divorce?

Blog/ January 21, 2020

Have Your Business Divorce Attorney Retain a Valuation Expert on Your Behalf – Don’t Do It on Your Own

Blog/ January 13, 2020

Potential Alternatives to Shareholder Dispute Litigation in Your Business Divorce

Blog/ November 7, 2019

Shareholder Dispute Litigation: When You Can Choose to Sell or Buy Your Company Shares in a Business Divorce

Blog/ October 30, 2019

Minority Business Owners Are Not Always Bound by an Operating or Shareholder Agreement

Blog/ October 2, 2019

Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands to Prepare for Business Divorce Litigation Can Backfire

Blog/ August 14, 2019

Don’t Let Ego – Yours or Your Attorney’s – Get in The Way of a Settlement

Blog/ June 11, 2019

Bad Faith Is Not Necessary for a Business Divorce

Blog/ March 18, 2019

Minority Shareholders Don’t Always Have a Right to Information

Blog/ February 15, 2019

Kicking a Member Out of an LLC – Dissociation Under the New Jersey LLC Statute

Blog/ November 29, 2018

New Case Addresses Termination of Employment as Shareholder Oppression

Blog/ October 25, 2018

Is Secretly Recording Your Business Partner Ever a Good Idea in New Jersey?

Blog/ October 4, 2018

Prosecutors Are Rarely Interested in Business “Theft” Cases

Blog/ April 9, 2018

What Happens When Equal Shares Does Not Mean Equal Power?

Blog/ January 30, 2018

Shareholder Pay – Need it Always be Equal When Ownership is Equal?

Blog/ May 23, 2017

Minority Shareholder Oppression Damages in New Jersey: More Than Just a Buyout?

Blog/ March 6, 2017

If You Lose A Minority Shareholder Oppression Lawsuit, Things Will Likely Get Worse – So Do It Right

Blog/ February 13, 2017

Termination of Employment as Minority Shareholder Oppression

Blog/ October 10, 2016

Court-Appointed “Tiebreakers” In a 50/50 Ownership Setting

Blog/ February 18, 2016

New Jersey Courts Recognize Equitable Ownership In Cases Where Full Ownership May Be Difficult To Prove

Blog/ October 21, 2015

Protection of the Minority Oppression Statute Is Not Waivable

Blog/ February 18, 2015

LLC Members Have Equal Rights as Corporate Shareholders When It Comes To Minority Owner Oppression

Blog/ January 26, 2015

Are Dividends A Mask For Financial Fraud?

Blog/ December 16, 2014

Can A Shareholder Compete With That Company After Employment Termination?

Blog/ October 14, 2014

Shareholder Oppression Remedies Are No Substitute for Control

Blog/ August 14, 2014

Creative Ways to Contractually Minimize the Chances of Shareholder Dispute Litigation

Blog/ April 14, 2014

Pros & Cons of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Shareholder Dispute Litigation

Blog/ March 26, 2014

Unnecessary Capital Call as Means of Dilution Can Be Shareholder Oppression

Blog/ November 20, 2013

Termination of LLC Member Employee Could Soon Be Considered “Oppression”

Blog/ August 27, 2013

Discovering Fraud By Your Business Partner: Act Now or Forever Hold Your Peace?

Blog/ March 15, 2013

If You Suspect Your Business Partner is Cheating You, Listen To Your Gut and Seek Legal Advice

Blog/ January 21, 2013

Should We Create a Corporation or an LLC? – From a Minority Owner’s Point of View

Blog/ December 18, 2012

Listen to the Little Voice Telling You Your Business Partner is Treating You Unfairly and Seek Advice Sooner Rather Than Later

Blog/ July 26, 2012

Injunctions in Shareholder Dispute Litigation

Blog/ May 25, 2012

I Want to Be a Buyer, Not a Seller, Part 2

Blog/ May 1, 2012

I Don’t Want To Sell To My Business Partner. I Want To Buy Him Out

Blog/ March 27, 2012

New Case Reaffirms the Difference Between Corporations and LLC’s When It Comes to Rights of Minority Owners

Blog/ October 11, 2011

An Oppression Case Can Get You More Than Just Monetary Damages

Blog/ October 11, 2010

Minority Shareholders Frozen-Out

Blog/ May 25, 2010

Majority Shareholder Abuses Could Harm The Minority Shareholders In More Ways Than One

Blog/ February 12, 2010

May a Shareholder Compete After He is Fired as an Employee?

Blog/ November 24, 2009

Suing a Family Member Is Never Easy

Blog/ September 9, 2009

Excess Compensation as Oppression

Blog/ May 19, 2009

The Special Situation of “Passive” Shareholders

Blog/ September 2, 2008

Employment Termination As Oppression

Blog/ December 4, 2007

Fifty Percent Shareholders Have Rights Too

Blog/ April 8, 2007

Minority Shareholder Rights

May 11, 2021

Mentioned, “Norris McLaughlin Appoints David Roberts as Chair,”

New Jersey Business Magazine

Presentations/

April 2, 2021

Mentioned, “Norris McLaughlin Continues Growth With Two Attys In NJ,”

Law360

Presentations/

August 27, 2020

Quoted, “2 Norris McLaughlin Hires Boost Bankruptcy, Biz Groups,”

Law360

Presentations/

Presentations/

August 7, 2018

Mentioned, “Norris McLaughlin, P.A.Names New Chairman, Makes Other Leadership Moves,”

The Legal Intelligencer

Presentations/

August 3, 2018

Mentioned, “Vanarthos elected to replace Sorrentino as chair of Norris McLaughlin,”

Lehigh Valley Business

Presentations/

August 2, 2018

Mentioned, “Norris McLaughlin, P.A.Names New Chairman, Makes Other Leadership Moves,”

New Jersey Law Journal

Presentations/

Presentations/

Presentations

June 21, 2018

“Anatomy of a Corporate/Business Divorce,”National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) and the Consultants’ Training Institute’s (CTI) 2018 Annual Consultants’ Conference,

Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, NV,

Presentations/

March 29, 2018

"Business Owner Rights: What Every Shareholder Should Know," Molly Pitcher Inn,

Red Bank, New Jersey,

Presentations/

November 2, 2017

"Shareholder Oppression: What Every Business Owner Should Know," Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,

Bridgewater, New Jersey,

Presentations/

November 11, 2015

"The Pros and Cons of Arbitration," Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,

Bridgewater, New Jersey,

Presentations/

April 16, 2015

"The Good, Bad & Ugly of a Business Divorce," Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,

Bridgewater, New Jersey,

Presentations/

October 27, 2010

"Hidden Danagers of Representing Multi-Owner Businesses: Legal Pitfalls Accountants Must Avoid," Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,

Bridgewater, New Jersey,

Presentations/

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