Court Opinion

ID: 9731347
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:42:53.532591+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:17.144151
License: Public Domain

ZAPPALA, Justice,
concurring and dissenting.
While I agree with the majority opinion’s discussion of Barletta v. Barletta, 506 Pa. 404, 485 A.2d 752 (1984), and its legal analysis as to the application of that case to the appeal now before us, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court misapplied the Barletta case. While the trial court does rely on Barletta in ordering a physical division of the closely held stock, it also sets forth cogent reasons why physical distribution is the most equitable remedy. In its supplemental opinion filed in response to the party’s petition for reconsideration as well as in its original opinion, the trial court sets forth its reasons for ordering a physical division of the closely held stock. In reaching its award, the trial court took into consideration the unavoidable difficulty in placing a proper valuation on the closely held stock, the fact that the appellant would be precluded from exercising any voting rights for the shares she received, and the lack of any actual evidence indicating that the appellant would be disruptive or tempt to thwart corporate actions. The trial court’s sound legal analysis demonstrates the exercise of proper discretion in fashioning an equitable distribution award. As such, I see no reason for remanding this matter to that court for further disposition. Instead, I merely would reverse the Superior Court and reinstate the trial court’s equitable distribution award.