Lake Worth Beach Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

Lake Worth Beach business owners, investors, and co-owners who suspect that a partner, manager, or member has put personal gain ahead of the company face a decision that cannot wait: do you confront the person quietly, or move in court before the money or the assets are gone? The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for clients in Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach County, and Broward County, and a Lake Worth Beach breach of fiduciary duty attorney from our firm can help you decide which path fits your situation.

A fiduciary is someone the law requires to put the company and its owners ahead of his or her own interests. Managing members, corporate officers, directors, and partners who control company funds all carry that obligation. When one of them diverts money, steals an opportunity that belonged to the business, pays themselves without authority, or hides the books, the harm is rarely limited to a single transaction. It shows up in missing distributions, a shrinking bank balance, and an owner who suddenly stops answering questions.

The practical consequences are what matter most. Delay can mean assets sold, accounts emptied, and records altered. Acting early can mean a court order freezing the problem in place while the dispute is sorted out.

What Fiduciary Breaches Look Like Inside a Closely Held Company

Most breach of fiduciary duty cases we see do not involve large public companies. They involve small LLCs, family businesses, real estate holding entities, and two- or three-owner corporations where one person runs day-to-day operations and the others rely on what they are told. That structure is exactly where abuse tends to hide.

The duty of loyalty is violated when a manager competes with the company, uses company property for a side venture, or approves deals that benefit a related party. The duty of care is implicated when decisions are made recklessly or without basic diligence. And a manager who conceals material information from the other owners compounds the problem, because the owners cannot object to what they never see.

Operating agreements and shareholder agreements often add their own rules on top of the general fiduciary standards: approval thresholds for large expenditures, limits on owner compensation, information rights, and restrictions on outside business activity. In our experience, these cases frequently turn on the precise language of those documents and on the history of how the owners actually dealt with one another.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Fiduciary Duty Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in some of South Florida’s most contested business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Lake Worth Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. We also represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests here and whose partners or co-owners are in South Florida. For those clients we handle the local court appearances so they are not traveling for every hearing.

Andrew M. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the setting where most fiduciary claims arise. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

A recent result illustrates the kind of detail-driven work these disputes demand. After a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment in May 2024 awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome came from careful preparation around contract language and the parties’ dealings, the same preparation we bring to a fiduciary case.

We practice as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or otherwise unavailable, and we schedule conference calls at times that work for everyone. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that serves your goals and your budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state counsel whose clients have Florida disputes.

Situations Where Fiduciary Claims Typically Arise

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner moves company money into personal accounts, pays personal expenses through the business, or routes payments to a related entity. These cases often involve commingled accounts and call for a court-ordered accounting.
• Unpaid Distributions and Disputed Capital Contributions: Profits are reported but never paid out, or an owner’s contributions are denied or recharacterized as loans. Fiduciary claims sit alongside breach of the operating or shareholder agreement.
• Self-Dealing and Related-Party Transactions: The person in control leases property to the company at inflated rates, hires family members at above-market pay, or awards contracts to an entity he or she secretly owns.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: An owner takes a deal, customer, or property purchase that belonged to the company and keeps it personally. Real estate investment entities in Palm Beach County are a common setting.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: Majority owners cut a minority member out of decisions, information, and compensation, sometimes to force a cheap buyout. Minority shareholders and LLC members have remedies, including court-supervised purchase of their interest.
• Family Business Conflicts: Siblings, parents and children, or in-laws who share ownership disagree about control and compensation. We handle these with discretion while still protecting the financial interests at stake.
• Waste and Mismanagement of Company Assets: Assets are sold below value, property is left uninsured or unmaintained, or the company is run into the ground. Florida’s LLC statute treats misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury as a ground for judicial dissolution.
• Deadlocked Management: Owners who cannot agree and cannot break the stalemate may face irreparable harm to the company. Some operating agreements contain deadlock sale provisions that take priority if properly initiated.

What to Do If You Think a Co-Owner Is Breaching a Fiduciary Duty

Start by securing what you are entitled to see. Pull the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, the articles of organization or incorporation, tax returns, bank and credit card statements, general ledgers, and any loan documents you have access to. If you still have access to accounting software or online banking, preserve what is there now. Do not delete anything and do not take documents you are not authorized to hold; the goal is to preserve evidence, not to create a new problem.

Next, put your questions in writing. A written request for books and records to the manager or company creates a record of what you asked for and how you were answered. Evasion, delay, or refusal often becomes useful evidence later.

Watch the clock. Florida sets different filing deadlines depending on how a claim is framed. A claim founded on a written instrument generally has a five-year period, while a claim based on an oral or implied contract has four years. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery, with an outer cap of twelve years. Negligence-based claims now carry a two-year period, and professional malpractice claims run two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Which deadline controls your case depends on how the claim is pleaded, which is one reason to have the facts reviewed promptly.

If assets are being moved, say so early. A court can issue temporary and permanent injunctions and, in appropriate cases, appoint a receiver or custodian to protect a company while the dispute is pending. In an LLC dissolution proceeding, the court must hold a hearing after notice before appointing a receiver or custodian, and the court may alternatively order that a petitioning member’s interest be purchased. For corporations, a shareholder who petitions for judicial dissolution may find that the company or other shareholders elect to buy out the petitioner at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order on those terms.

On venue, business disputes in Palm Beach County are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which includes the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, and Broward County matters are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which operates a complex business division. Claims with an amount in controversy above the county court limit belong in circuit court, and cases with federal jurisdiction can proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The right forum depends on the amount at stake, the entities involved, and where the parties and assets are located.

Finally, avoid the common mistakes: confronting the other owner before you have preserved records, continuing to sign documents you do not understand, and waiting while the company’s cash drains. Many disputes can still resolve through negotiation or mediation, and an early, organized demand often opens that door.

Remedies a Court Can Order When Fiduciary Duties Are Breached

Fiduciary litigation is about recovering what was lost and stopping further loss. Depending on the facts, remedies can include an accounting of company funds, return of diverted money or property, damages for lost profits, removal or restriction of the offending manager, and judicial dissolution when the company cannot continue in good faith. In a corporate setting, the court has broad power in a dissolution proceeding to issue injunctions, preserve assets, appoint a receiver or custodian, and carry on the business until a full hearing.

Florida’s LLC statute lists specific grounds on which a manager or member can seek dissolution, including that assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury, that controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, and that deadlocked owners face irreparable harm. If a deadlock sale provision in the operating agreement is properly started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that provision can displace a dissolution order, so the order of events matters.

Not every case ends in a trial. Some end in a negotiated buyout, a structured wind-down, or an agreed separation of the owners. Our role is to evaluate which result is achievable and to prepare the case so that any settlement is negotiated from a position of strength. Our firm also serves as outside general counsel for business clients, and in that role we often help owners put clearer governance rules in place before a disagreement becomes a lawsuit.

Questions About Fiduciary Duty Claims in Lake Worth Beach

What is a breach of fiduciary duty in a business setting?

It occurs when someone who owes duties of loyalty and care to a company or its owners, such as a manager, officer, director, or controlling member, acts in his or her own interest instead. Examples include taking company money, secretly competing, and concealing material information from other owners.

Who owes a fiduciary duty in a Florida LLC or corporation?

Managers, managing members, officers, and directors generally carry fiduciary obligations, and controlling owners can too. The exact scope depends on the entity type and what the operating or shareholder agreement says.

How long do I have to file a fiduciary duty lawsuit?

It depends on how the claim is framed. A claim founded on a written instrument has a five-year period, an oral or implied contract claim has four years, and fraud runs four years from discovery with a twelve-year cap. Negligence-based claims have a two-year period. Because the label affects the deadline, the facts should be reviewed early.

Can I get a court to stop a partner from spending or moving company money?

Yes, in appropriate cases. Courts can issue temporary injunctions to preserve assets while the case is pending, and may appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing. The strength of your evidence and how quickly you act both matter.

What is an accounting, and why does it matter?

An accounting is a court-supervised review of a company’s financial dealings. When funds cannot be traced or a partner cannot explain where money went, it is often the first step toward quantifying what was taken.

Is a fiduciary duty claim the same as a breach of contract claim?

No, though they frequently appear together. A contract claim rests on the terms of the operating or shareholder agreement. A fiduciary claim rests on the duties the law imposes on people who control another’s money or business interests. A single course of conduct can support both.

What if I am a minority owner and the majority is shutting me out?

Minority owners have options, including demanding records, suing for breach of fiduciary duty, and in some cases seeking dissolution or a court-supervised buyout. In a corporate dissolution proceeding, the company or other shareholders may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and that election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it.

Will my case have to go to trial?

Not necessarily. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, especially when an agreement contains a dispute resolution clause. Preparing the case as if it will be tried is often what makes a fair settlement possible.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own part of a Palm Beach County company. Can you handle the case?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida business and real estate interests. We handle the Florida court proceedings and keep you informed so you do not need to travel for each hearing.

Can a fiduciary duty dispute involve real estate owned by the company?

Often. A manager might sell or encumber property without authority, or divert rent and sale proceeds. Related remedies can include injunctions, accountings, and, where co-owners simply cannot agree, a partition action or a quiet title action to resolve competing ownership claims.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the amount missing is relatively small?

It can be, particularly when the conduct is ongoing or suggests a pattern. A written demand and early evaluation of the records can sometimes resolve a smaller dispute efficiently, and the amount in controversy also determines which court hears the case.

What if the other owner is a family member?

These cases carry added weight because the relationship is at stake alongside the business. We approach them with discretion and look for resolutions, such as a buyout or structured separation, that protect your finances without needlessly escalating the conflict.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients From Lake Worth Beach Across South Florida

We represent clients throughout Lake Worth Beach and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, including Lake Worth, Lantana, Palm Springs, Greenacres, Atlantis, Haverhill, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter. Disputes involving businesses in the area frequently touch neighboring communities, so we also serve owners and investors in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, and Hollywood.

Whether the dispute involves a Lake Worth Beach storefront, a Palm Beach County real estate holding company, or a family business with partners spread between Florida and the tri-state area, we take the matter to the court where it belongs, in Palm Beach County, Broward County, or federal court when the case calls for it.

Talk With a Lake Worth Beach Fiduciary Duty Attorney

If you believe a partner, manager, or co-owner has breached a duty owed to you or your company, speak with a Lake Worth Beach fiduciary duty attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team before more money, records, or time are lost. We will review your agreements and the facts, explain the deadlines and remedies that apply, and tell you candidly which path makes sense.

Call our team today to schedule a consultation. If we are in court, you will hear back within 24 hours.