Court grants Greenberg Freeman’s motion to dismiss shareholder’s complaint.

Justice Charles E. Ramos of the New York County Supreme Court, Commercial Division, granted Greenberg Freeman’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against clients Twenty Two Degree Energy Corp. (TTD), Echo Power International, Inc. (EPI) and their officers by Scott Ziegler, a New York attorney and disgruntled shareholder.  Mr. Ziegler, a minority shareholder in TTD, brought an action alleging that TTD’s officers and others working with them had mismanaged TTD, and had transferred assets of TTD to EPI solely for the purpose of diluting Mr. Ziegler’s interest in TTD.  In moving to dismiss the complaint, Michael Freeman, appearing on behalf of Greenberg Freeman, argued that the claims asserted by plaintiff were derivative claims that could only be brought by a shareholder on behalf of the corporation, and not by a shareholder in his individual capacity.  The court agreed, and dismissed the action with prejudice in an oral decision rendered from the bench on March 15, 2012.