Is Pressuring a Partner to Sell Out a Transgression of Lo Sachmod? 

Rav Yosef Dovid Josilowsky

Question: Two people are business partners. One of them wants to end the partnership and tells the other that he is going to buy him out. Is that a problem of Lo Sachmod?

Answer: The B’Tzeil Hachochmah says that if he offers the partner the option of either buying him out or being bought out by him, he would not be in transgression of the prohibition because he is not coveting what his friend has for himself. What he really wants is to end the partnership.

If, however, he only offers the option of selling out to him and he coerces his partner to accept, he may be in transgression of the prohibition.