Ten individuals through an operating agreement form Cotillard, LLC$,$ a limited liability company, in a state that has adopted the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act $($ULLCA$).$ The purpose of the LLC is to develop and sell new computer hardware systems. Each individual invested $$1,000$ and received $10\%$ ownership of the LLC$.$ Five years later, Cotillard became a successful company with a fair value of $$10$ million.

Ashwini Abara, a member of the limited liability company, decided to withdraw from the partnership to start up a sustainable waste disposal business. The other members of Cotillard offer to return her initial investment of $$1,000.$ Abara disagrees and wants compensation equivalent to the fair value of her interest in the limited liability company. The other members of Cotillard also claim that Abara$$s withdrawal was wrongful and that she violated her duty of loyalty to the company by starting her new business. The operating agreement is silent on how funds are distributed when a partner withdraws. The operating agreement is also silent on what a partner can or cannot do after withdrawing from the LLC$.$