Lighthouse Point Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

The goal in a fiduciary case is usually twofold: stop the person who controls the money or the decisions from doing more damage, and get back what was taken or lost. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families, and a Lighthouse Point breach of fiduciary duty attorney from our firm can pursue both goals for partners, LLC members, shareholders, and co-owners in Lighthouse Point and across Broward County and Palm Beach County.

Fiduciary claims come up when someone who was trusted to act for the benefit of others did not. A managing member pays himself out of company accounts without telling anyone. A partner steers a profitable opportunity to a separate company he owns. A co-owner running a rental property stops sharing the books. The law treats people in these roles as owing duties of loyalty and care, and a business owner who has been shut out or quietly drained has legal tools to push back.

Lighthouse Point is a small, close-knit community in northern Broward County, and many of the businesses around it are owner-run: marine and boating operations, restaurants, professional offices, and real estate holdings. In companies like these, the owners often know each other personally, and an agreement that was never carefully written down is common. That is usually where fiduciary disputes begin.

When Fiduciary Duties Apply in a Closely Held Business

Not every unfair business decision is a breach of fiduciary duty. The claim depends on whether the person owed a duty to you in the first place, and that turns on the type of entity, the role the person held, and what your governing documents say. Managers and controlling members of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, and partners in a partnership generally owe duties to the company and, in many situations, to the other owners. Majority owners who control a closely held company can also be held to a duty not to abuse that control against the minority.

The operating agreement or shareholder agreement matters a great deal. Some agreements expand duties, some narrow them, and some set out specific procedures for approving related-party deals or paying managers. Contract and fiduciary claims often travel together, and we read the agreement closely before deciding how to frame the case. Contract enforcement has been the center of Andrew Schwartz’s practice throughout his career, so the paper trail gets the same attention as the conduct.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving clients in Lighthouse Point and throughout Broward County, Palm Beach County, and South Florida. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989.

He is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. That matters when a dispute involves both Florida state court and, in some cases, the federal court covering Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The firm practices as a true legal team: everyone working on your matter knows the file, so when you call, someone can answer your question. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy if we are in court and cannot respond right away.

The firm has also obtained results in contested trials. After a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Past results do not guarantee any particular outcome, but they reflect the level of preparation we bring to disputes that turn on documents, testimony, and detail.

We are equally comfortable with mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Many clients arrive thinking they want the most aggressive lawyer available. What most actually want is someone who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do.

Common Fiduciary Duty Claims We Handle

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner moves money out of company accounts for personal use, pays inflated compensation to himself, or runs personal expenses through the business. These cases often involve commingled accounts and call for an accounting and recovery of the funds.
• Self-Dealing and Related-Party Transactions: The company contracts with a business owned by the manager, or a controlling owner sells company property to an affiliate at a below-market price. The duty of loyalty is the core issue.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner takes a deal, client, or property that belonged to the company and routes it to a competing venture. This is common in real estate investment partnerships and service businesses.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: A majority owner cuts off a minority member from information, distributions, or decision-making, or dilutes the minority’s stake. Many minority owners in closely held companies first notice a problem when distributions stop.
• Refusal to Provide Books and Records: Owners who cannot see financial statements or bank records often cannot tell whether anything wrong has happened. Access to records is frequently the first step in building the case.
• Breaches Within Family Businesses: Siblings, parents and children, or in-laws who share ownership can face fiduciary claims when one relative controls the company and acts for personal gain. These cases require discretion alongside firm protection of the client’s financial interests.
• Co-Owner Misconduct in Real Estate Ventures: A co-owner collects rents, takes out loans, or makes deals on a jointly held property without accounting to the others. Remedies can include an accounting, injunctive relief, or a partition action.
• Waste and Mismanagement of Company Assets: Assets are spent, encumbered, or allowed to deteriorate in ways that harm the company. Florida’s LLC statute recognizes misappropriation or waste of assets, causing injury, as a ground for judicial dissolution.

What to Do Right Now If You Suspect a Partner Is Breaching Fiduciary Duty

Start by collecting what you already have access to, quietly and legitimately. Gather your operating agreement, shareholder agreement, or partnership agreement, along with tax returns, K-1s, financial statements, bank statements you are entitled to see, and emails or texts that discuss money, distributions, or major decisions. Do not log into accounts you are not authorized to use or take documents you have no right to; evidence obtained improperly can hurt your case. If you are an owner, you generally have rights to company records, and a written request is often the cleanest way to exercise them.

Timing matters. Florida’s limitations periods differ by claim. A claim founded on a written instrument carries a five-year period, while a claim on an oral or implied contract carries four years. Fraud-based claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. A claim that the deal itself should be rescinded has a four-year period, and a suit for specific performance has a one-year period. Whether a particular fiduciary claim is governed by one of these or by another rule depends on how the claim is pleaded and when it accrued, which is why waiting to see how things play out can quietly cost you rights. If money is still moving, speak with a lawyer before the window shrinks further.

When assets are at risk, a court can act quickly. In a judicial dissolution case, a Florida court can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice to the parties and a hearing, and corporate dissolution proceedings allow the court to issue injunctions and take other steps to preserve assets while the case is pending. We also pursue temporary and permanent injunctions to stop funds or property from being moved or spent during the dispute. Avoid confronting the other owner in writing in ways that tip them off before protective steps are in place, and avoid signing anything they send you, such as a buyout offer or an amended agreement, until it has been reviewed.

For a Lighthouse Point business, these cases are filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, and a larger claim belongs in circuit court rather than county court. The Seventeenth Circuit also maintains a complex business division that handles, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation. If the company or the property is tied to Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit may be the proper court. Federal court, the Southern District of Florida, is an option only when federal jurisdiction exists. We assess venue early because it shapes timing, judges, and strategy.

Remedies and Exit Paths Beyond a Money Judgment

Winning back dollars is only one outcome. Depending on the entity and the facts, the remedy may be an accounting of where the money went, recovery of diverted funds, removal of a manager, a court-supervised buyout, or dissolution of the company. Florida’s LLC law lists grounds on which a member or manager can seek dissolution, including that managers or members are misappropriating or wasting assets, that controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, that it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, or that the owners are deadlocked and the company faces irreparable injury. The court can order a receiver or custodian, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

For corporations, a shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on specified grounds, but the corporation or other shareholders may elect to buy out the petitioner’s shares at fair value instead. 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. Many operating and shareholder agreements also contain their own deadlock or buyout mechanisms, and those provisions can control the process. Part of our job is figuring out whether you want out, want control, or want the business preserved, and then choosing the path that fits.

Questions About Fiduciary Duty Claims in Lighthouse Point

What exactly is a breach of fiduciary duty?

It is a failure by someone who owed duties of loyalty or care to act in the interests of the people they served. In a business setting, that can mean self-dealing, hiding information, taking company funds, or favoring personal interests over the company’s.

Who owes fiduciary duties in a Florida business?

It depends on the entity and role. Managers and managing members of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, and partners generally owe duties, and controlling owners of closely held companies can owe duties to the minority. The governing agreement can shape the scope.

What can I recover?

Remedies can include an accounting, return of diverted funds, damages for losses to the company or to you, injunctive relief, removal of a manager, or a court-ordered buyout or dissolution. The right mix depends on the facts and your goals.

How long do I have to file?

Florida applies different periods to different claims: five years for claims founded on a written instrument, four years for oral or implied contracts and for rescission, four years from discovery for fraud with a 12-year outer cap, and one year for specific performance. Because the correct period depends on how the claim is framed, speak with an attorney promptly rather than guessing.

Can I get a court order to freeze funds while the case is pending?

Often, yes, if the facts justify it. Courts can issue temporary injunctions and, in dissolution proceedings, can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing. Early action matters when money is still leaving the business.

My partner is also a family member. Does that change anything?

The legal duties are the same, but the approach is different. Family business disputes carry personal weight, and we handle them with discretion while still protecting your financial position. Some clients want a negotiated separation that keeps the relationship intact, and some need a firmer course.

Do I need proof of stolen money, or is suspicion enough?

You need a good-faith basis to file, but you do not need a complete case on day one. Records requests, an accounting claim, and discovery are often how the full picture comes together. Gathering what you are legitimately entitled to see first helps.

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

No, though they often overlap. A contract claim asks whether an agreement was broken, while a fiduciary claim asks whether someone in a position of trust abused it. A single set of facts can support both, and the operating agreement may affect each.

Will this have to go to trial?

Not necessarily. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and our attorneys have experience in all of them as well as in the courtroom. We pursue the path most likely to meet your goals efficiently.

I live out of state but own part of a Broward 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 local court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

How much does a case like this cost?

It varies with the size of the dispute and how contested it becomes. Most clients want a cost-effective solution rather than legal fees that outweigh common sense, and we discuss strategy and budget openly from the start.

Can a lawyer who is not a business litigator refer me to you?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other attorneys, including Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation and out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes. We communicate with referring counsel throughout.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients Across Lighthouse Point and South Florida

We represent clients in Lighthouse Point and the neighboring Broward County communities of Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Coral Springs, Parkland, Tamarac, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work extends south through Hollywood and Plantation and north into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach.

Whether the dispute involves a boating or marine business, a professional practice, a family company, or a jointly owned investment property, we handle cases throughout South Florida, and for owners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners or co-owners are here.

Talk With a Lighthouse Point Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyer

If you believe a partner, manager, or co-owner has misused your trust or your company’s money, the sooner you speak with a Lighthouse Point breach of fiduciary duty lawyer, the more options you are likely to have. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to discuss what you are seeing and what can be done about it.

We will review your agreements and the facts, explain where you stand, and recommend a course that fits your goals and budget. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.