How do you know? If he was a legitimate partner in the original LLC/Corporation, he may have equity rights that the other owner ignored, buried, etc. You have n

How do you know? If he was a legitimate partner in the original LLC/Corporation, he may have equity rights that the other owner ignored, buried, etc. You have no idea. From his post it sounds like the founders didn't have a formal setup but had a gentleman's agreement which was ignored. It is not just "OK" to ignore a gentleman's agreement. Maybe they had something formal, maybe they didn't. Either way, there are laws governing how the "four D's" are handled if nothing is stipulated on paper. The four D's are death, disability, divorce (ie partners decide to separate, which is what happened here), and departing (amicable separate through pre-arranged buyout/exit terms). In any case, let this be a lesson to everyone else to have these situations pre-contemplated and agreed to in writing :)