Chatterton v. Business Valuation Research, Inc.

This case arises from a dispute over the meaning of the term “value” in a shareholder buyout agreement of a closely held printing business. The majority shareholder agreed to buy out the retiring minority shareholder’s interest at a value to be determined by a small business evaluator selected by their attorneys. The buyout agreement also outlined the procedure for valuing the stock: An MAI appraiser would value the tangible assets. A small business evaluator would then determine the value of the total business including the tangible assets. Next the business evaluator would discount the…