Gimpel v. Bolstein
New York Supreme Court
477 N.Y.S.2d 1014 (1984)
Robert Gimpel (plaintiff) was fired from family-owned Gimpel Farms after embezzling funds and was excluded from further managerial decisions; the corporation, which had paid no dividends since its 1931 founding, continued that policy after his firing while other shareholders drew significant salary and benefits, and Gimpel received no shareholder compensation, no book access, and no shareholder meetings were held after his termination. Gimpel petitioned to involuntarily dissolve the corporation as oppressive.
Whether a family corporation's decision to terminate an embezzling shareholder-employee, maintain its longstanding no-dividend policy, and deny him meetings and book access constitutes inherently oppressive conduct warranting involuntary dissolution.