Pembroke Pines Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

A co-owner who controls the books, the bank accounts, or the decisions can do real damage before anyone outside notices. If you are an owner, investor, or beneficiary with a stake in a Pembroke Pines business or property, and you suspect someone with a duty to you has put their own interests first, you need to know what the law gives you. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Broward County, Palm Beach County, and across South Florida, and a Pembroke Pines breach of fiduciary duty attorney from our team can evaluate what happened and what can be done about it.

A fiduciary duty is a legal obligation to put another person’s interests ahead of your own in a defined relationship. In the business world it shows up between managers and LLC members, majority and minority shareholders, general partners and limited partners, and anyone entrusted with company money or decisions. Breach tends to look like quiet self-dealing: a manager paying himself unapproved compensation, a partner steering a corporate opportunity to a side company, funds that move without explanation, or books that are never opened to the owners who are entitled to see them.

The hard part is rarely proving that something feels wrong. It is documenting what the fiduciary did, tying it to the duty that was owed, and showing the financial harm. That work depends on records, agreements, and speed.

Where Fiduciary Breaches Surface in Closely Held Businesses

Fiduciary claims in our practice usually grow out of a business relationship that has soured. The pattern is familiar: one owner runs day-to-day operations, the other trusts the numbers, and eventually the trust runs out. Common settings include:

• LLC Manager Misconduct: A managing member diverts company funds, pays personal expenses through the company, or makes major decisions the operating agreement reserves for a member vote. Florida’s LLC statute lists misappropriated or wasted assets and unlawful conduct by those in control as recognized grounds for judicial dissolution.
• Minority Shareholder Oppression: Majority holders in a corporation cut a minority owner out of distributions, pay themselves excessive salaries, or freeze the minority holder out of information and decisions.
• Partner Self-Dealing: A partner competes with the business, takes a company opportunity for a separate venture, or contracts with a company he or she secretly owns.
• Unaccounted Company Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, disputed capital contributions, and managers who cannot explain where the money went. These cases often call for a formal accounting.
• Real Estate Co-Investor Disputes: A partner who controls a jointly owned property collects rent, sells, or refinances without telling the other owners, or lets the property decline while keeping the income.
• Family Business Conflicts: Siblings, parents, and in-laws who share ownership and disagree about compensation, control, or succession, where a family member in charge treats the company as a personal account.
• Deadlock That Becomes Misconduct: Owners who cannot agree on management, where one side uses the stalemate to strip assets or lock the other out.

What to Do Right Now if You Suspect a Fiduciary Has Betrayed You

Start by preserving what you can legitimately access. Pull your copy of the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, and any amendments. Collect tax returns, K-1s, bank statements, financial reports, emails, and texts that touch on money or major decisions. Do not log into systems you are not authorized to use, and do not take documents you have no right to hold. Improper self-help can hand the other side a counterclaim.

Then look at your rights to information. Owners generally have statutory and contractual rights to inspect company records, and a refusal to produce them is itself useful evidence. A written request, sent before anyone has filed anything, creates a record of the stonewalling.

Watch the calendar, because Florida’s limitations periods differ depending on how a claim is framed. A claim founded on a written instrument carries a five-year period. A contract claim that is not based on a written instrument carries four years. Fraud runs four years from discovery, subject to a twelve-year outer limit. Because a fiduciary dispute can involve several theories at once, the safest course is to assume the shortest applicable clock and talk to counsel early rather than late.

If money or property is actively moving, say so at the first conversation. Emergency relief is available in appropriate cases, and courts can issue temporary injunctions to stop assets from being transferred or spent while the case is pending. The sooner a court sees evidence of ongoing dissipation, the more it can do.

The usual mistakes are waiting for certainty that never comes, confronting the fiduciary in a way that prompts them to hide or delete records, and signing releases or buyout papers drafted by the other side. Do not sign anything that resolves your claims until a lawyer has read it.

As for where cases are heard, a Pembroke Pines dispute is typically filed in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Circuit court is the forum for claims above the county court ceiling, and fiduciary and dissolution cases are almost always in that range. Broward’s circuit court also has a complex business division that handles dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, and a case can be directed there under the circuit’s administrative order. Where the parties and claims qualify, federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, may also come into play. Property that sits across the county line may involve the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County.

Remedies Florida Courts Can Order in Fiduciary Cases

Winning a fiduciary claim is not just about a damages check. Courts have a range of tools, and the right mix depends on whether the business is worth saving.

On the money side, a court can order an accounting, award damages for losses caused by the breach, and order the return of funds that were diverted. Where the fiduciary profited, the case can turn on disgorging those gains rather than measuring only the other owner’s loss.

On the control side, the remedies get more structural. In an LLC, a member can seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include assets being misappropriated or wasted, controlling managers acting illegally or fraudulently, and a deadlock that threatens irreparable injury. Once a dissolution case is filed, the court can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest. For corporations, a shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can respond by electing to buy out the petitioner at fair value. If the parties agree on fair value and terms within sixty days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. In the meantime a court can issue injunctions and appoint a receiver to protect corporate assets.

Operating and shareholder agreements matter here. Some contain deadlock sale provisions, buy-sell formulas, or arbitration clauses that change the path. Reading those documents carefully at the outset determines whether the case belongs in court, in mediation, or in arbitration.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm representing business owners, investors, and families in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and throughout South Florida. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation, and his career has been built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

He is joined by Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That combination matters when a fiduciary dispute can end up in circuit court or in federal court depending on the parties and claims.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file and can answer when you call. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or unavailable, and we schedule conference calls at times that work for everyone involved. Clients often come in expecting to hire the most aggressive lawyer they can find. In our experience, what they actually want is a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do, with fees that make sense against what is at stake.

Recent results reflect the same detail-driven approach. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We prepare fiduciary cases the same way: close attention to the agreements, the paper trail, and the history between the parties. Our attorneys also have experience in mediation and arbitration, so we can pursue a negotiated separation, a buyout, or a courtroom fight depending on which serves your goals.

Common Questions About Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims

What exactly is a breach of fiduciary duty?

It is a failure by someone who owed you a duty of loyalty or care to act accordingly, causing you harm. In business, the people who typically owe those duties are managers, controlling members, majority shareholders, partners, officers, and directors.

Who can bring a fiduciary duty claim?

LLC members, shareholders, partners, and in some cases the company itself can bring claims, depending on who was harmed and how. Whether the claim belongs to you directly or to the company on its behalf is a threshold question that shapes the case.

How do I prove a partner took money from the business?

Proof usually comes from bank records, accounting files, tax filings, credit card statements, and communications. A court can order an accounting that forces the fiduciary to document where company money went. Gaps and unexplained transfers are often the strongest evidence.

Can the court stop my partner from moving assets while the case is pending?

Yes, in appropriate cases. Courts can issue temporary injunctions, including on an emergency basis, to freeze the movement or spending of assets while the dispute is resolved. You generally need evidence showing the risk, so documentation matters.

How long do I have to file in Florida?

It depends on how the claim is characterized. A claim founded on a written instrument has five years. A contract claim not based on a written instrument has four years. A fraud claim has four years from discovery, with a twelve-year cap. Because several theories can overlap, you should assume the shortest clock may apply and get advice early.

Do I have to sue, or can this be resolved without court?

Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, especially where an operating or shareholder agreement requires it. We pursue whichever route is most likely to achieve your goals efficiently, and we are prepared to litigate if the other side will not deal in good faith.

Can I force a partner out of an LLC for breaching fiduciary duties?

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements have expulsion, dissociation, or buyout provisions, and Florida’s LLC statute provides court remedies, including dissolution and buyout orders, when assets are being misappropriated or controlling members are acting illegally or fraudulently.

What if my partner is a family member?

Fiduciary duties apply regardless of the relationship, but these cases carry added sensitivity. We handle them with discretion while still protecting your financial interests, and we look for resolutions that account for the family relationship where that is possible.

What happens to the business if I file for judicial dissolution?

Filing does not necessarily end the business. The court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, and in many cases the other owners can elect to buy out the petitioner rather than let the company dissolve. Many disputes resolve through a buyout at fair value.

Is it worth pursuing a claim if the amount missing is modest?

That depends on the cost of the fight against what is at stake, including ongoing harm and your long-term position as an owner. We discuss that candidly up front, since the aim is a result that makes sense financially, not a case for its own sake.

I live out of state but own part of a Pembroke Pines business. Can you help?

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

Does my attorney referral stay with me?

If another lawyer referred you or you are an attorney referring a client, we communicate with referring counsel throughout the matter and respect the existing client relationship.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients Across Pembroke Pines and South Florida

We represent owners and investors in Pembroke Pines and throughout Broward County, including Miramar, Hollywood, Davie, Cooper City, Weston, Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Park, Hallandale Beach, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Coral Springs, Parkland, Margate, Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work also reaches north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, and West Palm Beach.

Many fiduciary disputes involve parties and property in more than one community, so we are comfortable with cases that cross county lines. We also work with clients who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and hold interests in South Florida businesses and real estate.

Talk With a Pembroke Pines Fiduciary Duty Attorney Before Assets Disappear

If you believe a partner, manager, or controlling owner has breached a duty to you, the sooner you act, the more options you keep. A Pembroke Pines breach of fiduciary duty lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, assess the evidence, and tell you plainly what remedies fit your situation. Call us to schedule a consultation.