Kavanaugh v. Kavanaugh

• Decision Date: 23 December 2021
• Docket Number: 704,CA 20-01025
• Citation: 200 A.D.3d 1576,156 N.Y.S.3d 768 (Mem)
• Parties: Matthew G. KAVANAUGH, Individually and as a Director of Consumers Beverages, Inc., a Member of Kavcon Development LLC, and a Director of Kavco Distributing Company, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Neil KAVANAUGH, Also Known as Cornelius Kavanaugh, Martha Kavanaugh, Defendants-Respondents-Appellants, and Mary Ellen Kavanaugh, Defendant-Respondent. (Appeal No. 2.)
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

200 A.D.3d 1576
156 N.Y.S.3d 768 (Mem)

Matthew G. KAVANAUGH, Individually and as a Director of Consumers Beverages, Inc., a Member of Kavcon Development LLC, and a Director of Kavco Distributing Company, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Neil KAVANAUGH, Also Known as Cornelius Kavanaugh, Martha Kavanaugh, Defendants-Respondents-Appellants,
and
Mary Ellen Kavanaugh, Defendant-Respondent. (Appeal No. 2.)

704
CA 20-01025

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York.

Entered: December 23, 2021

GROSS SHUMAN, P.C., BUFFALO (HUGH C. CARLIN OF COUNSEL), FOR PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT.

CONNORS LLP, BUFFALO (VINCENT E. DOYLE, III, OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT-APPELLANT NEIL KAVANAUGH, ALSO KNOWN AS CORNELIUS KAVANAUGH.

ADAMS LECLAIR LLP, ROCHESTER (JEREMY M. SHER OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT-APPELLANT MARTHA KAVANAUGH.

GARVEY & GARVEY, BUFFALO (DENNIS J. GARVEY OF COUNSEL), FOR DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT.

PRESENT: CENTRA, J.P., PERADOTTO, NEMOYER, AND DEJOSEPH, JJ.

156 N.Y.S.3d 769

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

It is hereby ORDERED that said cross appeals are unanimously dismissed, the order is reversed on the law without costs, the motion is granted, and judgment is granted in favor of plaintiff as follows:

It is ADJUDGED and DECLARED that the transfers of shares and ownership interests in Consumers Beverages, Inc. and Kavcon Development LLC from defendants Martha Kavanaugh and Mary Ellen Kavanaugh to defendant Neil Kavanaugh, also known as Cornelius Kavanaugh, are null and void.

Memorandum: This appeal is part of an extended intra-family litigation concerning the ownership of two family companies, Consumers Beverages, Inc. (CBI) and Kavcon Development LLC (Kavcon). The parties are siblings, and they are all current or former shareholders in CBI and current or former members of Kavcon. The parties are also signatories to the separate agreements that govern the ownership structure of each company.

In 2012, defendant Neil Kavanaugh, also known as Cornelius Kavanaugh, purchased defendant Mary Ellen Kavanaugh's interests in CBI and Kavcon. In 2013, Neil purchased defendant Martha Kavanaugh's interests in CBI and Kavcon. Plaintiff objected to those purchases, and he...