You own thirty percent of the company, and for the first ten years that felt like a partnership. Then the managing member stopped returning your calls. The distributions shrank and then stopped, though the company is plainly doing well. You are no longer copied on decisions. The manager’s salary has grown to a number that happens to absorb most of the profit you used to share. You are still a member on paper, but you have been pushed to the door without anyone touching the lock.
This is a freeze-out, and the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act gives a minority member real remedies for it. The managing member is counting on you believing that whoever controls the company controls your fate. The statute says otherwise. If you are the frozen-out member, the law gives you leverage the manager would rather you never discover.
