Lauderhill Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

If you own a share of a company in Lauderhill and suspect that a partner, co-member, or manager has been putting their own interests ahead of the business, the decision in front of you is not only whether to sue but when, where, and for what relief. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for owners, investors, and families in Lauderhill, the rest of Broward County, and Palm Beach County, and this is the work we do as a Lauderhill breach of fiduciary duty attorney.

Fiduciary claims are different from ordinary contract disputes because the duty exists even where no clause spells it out. Managers of LLCs, officers and directors of corporations, and partners owe loyalty and care to the company and, in many settings, to the co-owners. The claim usually surfaces through money: distributions that stopped, an account nobody can explain, a related-party deal nobody approved, or a partner who quietly diverted a customer or contract to a new entity. The sooner those facts are pinned down, the more options a court has to give you real relief.

What a Fiduciary Duty Claim Looks Like Between Co-Owners

A breach of fiduciary duty claim generally rests on three things: a relationship in which one person owed duties to another, a violation of those duties, and harm that followed. The first element is often the contested one. Whether a duty runs to you personally or only to the company can change who the proper plaintiff is, whether the claim is brought directly or on the company’s behalf, and where any recovery goes. A minority owner in a closely held company often has both kinds of claims at once, and sorting them out early shapes the entire case.

Evidence tends to live in places the wrongdoer controls: bank statements, accounting software, tax returns, vendor payments, and internal emails. That is why many of these cases begin with a demand for an accounting and for access to company records, and why timing matters. Our work on these cases starts with reconstructing where the money went and who approved it, because the operating agreement or shareholder agreement and the history of how the owners actually dealt with each other usually decide what conduct was allowed.

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

The Andrew M. We serve clients in Lauderhill and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, including Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Boca Raton, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests here. Fiduciary duty, partner and member disputes, business divorce, and complex contract litigation are the center of what we do.

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 contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. We practice as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court or otherwise unable to answer right away.

Recent results reflect the kind of document-driven, trial-ready work these disputes demand. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that serves a client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Many clients arrive through referrals from other attorneys, and we communicate with referring counsel throughout the matter.

Situations That Commonly Give Rise to Fiduciary Claims

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner pays personal expenses from company accounts, moves cash into a separate entity, or commingles business and personal money. These cases often support claims for an accounting, recovery of the funds, and emergency relief to freeze assets.
• Self-Dealing and Related-Party Transactions: The company leases space from, buys from, or pays fees to an entity the controlling owner secretly owns, at terms no outside party would accept.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner redirects a client, contract, or property deal to a side venture instead of bringing it to the company, a recurring pattern in Broward real estate and service businesses.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: Majority owners cut off distributions, remove a member from management, withhold records, or pay themselves salaries that absorb all profit, leaving the minority owner with an interest that earns nothing.
• Unpaid Distributions and Disputed Capital Contributions: Disagreements over who put in what and who is owed what, often traced through bank records and the operating agreement’s accounting provisions.
• Family Business Betrayals: Siblings, parents and children, or in-laws who share ownership and one side controls the books. These carry personal weight, and we handle them with discretion while protecting the financial position.
• Misconduct That Supports Dissolution or Buyout: Under Florida’s LLC statute, a court may dissolve a company where assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or where those in control have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently.
• Co-Owned Real Estate Held Through a Company or Jointly: Fiduciary breaches often overlap with title, partition, and property-management disputes among former business partners.

What to Do Now If You Suspect a Partner Is Breaching Their Duties

Start by securing what you are entitled to see without confronting anyone. Gather your operating agreement or shareholder agreement, any amendments, tax returns and K-1s, bank statements you already have access to, and emails that show approvals, promises, or objections. Do not take documents you are not authorized to access or log into accounts you have been locked out of; evidence obtained that way can create problems for you. If you hold the right to inspect company records as a member or shareholder, a written request creates a clean record and frequently reveals how the other side responds.

Watch the calendar. A claim founded on a written instrument, such as an operating or shareholder agreement, carries a five-year limitations period, while a contract claim that is not based on a written instrument carries four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer cap of 12 years. Fiduciary breach claims have their own timing analysis depending on how the claim is framed, so do not assume you have years. Delay also hurts practically: funds get spent, accounts get closed, and records disappear.

If assets are actively being moved, a court can be asked for temporary injunctive relief to stop transfers while the case proceeds, and we handle early and emergency injunction requests. Cases in Lauderhill are filed in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, when the amount in controversy exceeds the county court limit. That circuit also maintains complex business divisions that handle, among other matters, dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, with a direct filing path through a designated form at the time of filing. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale is an option only where federal jurisdiction exists. We assess forum early, because it affects speed, judge assignment, and cost.

Common mistakes include confronting the partner before preserving evidence, continuing to sign company documents or tax filings you do not understand, agreeing to informal “buyout” talks without a valuation, and waiting while the other owner restructures the business. A short consultation before you act lets us tell you which steps help and which could weaken your position.

Remedies Florida Courts Can Order in Owner Disputes

Relief in these cases is broader than a money judgment. Depending on the facts and the entity type, a court can order an accounting, require repayment of diverted funds, award damages, impose injunctive relief, appoint a receiver or custodian, or order a buyout of the complaining owner’s interest. For LLCs, the court must hold a hearing and notify the parties before appointing a receiver or custodian, and can order purchase of a petitioning member’s interest in a dissolution proceeding.

For corporations, a shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, which tends to turn the case into a valuation dispute. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. During the proceeding, the court may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve corporate assets. Where the agreement already contains a deadlock sale mechanism, that mechanism can control if properly initiated, so reading the agreement closely is the first step in choosing a strategy.

Questions Lauderhill Owners Ask About Fiduciary Duty Claims

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

It is a violation of the loyalty or care owed by someone who controls or manages a company or acts on another owner’s behalf. Typical examples include self-dealing, diverting funds, hiding information, and taking opportunities that belong to the company.

Who owes fiduciary duties in an LLC or corporation?

Managers, managing members, officers, directors, and in many circumstances controlling owners owe duties to the company and sometimes directly to other owners. The operating agreement can shape those duties within limits, which is why the document matters.

Can I sue if my partner is taking money from the business?

Yes. Depending on the facts, you may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. In urgent situations a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Do I sue on my own behalf or on behalf of the company?

It depends on who was harmed. Injury that falls on the company as a whole is often pursued on the company’s behalf, while harm that targets you individually, such as being frozen out or denied your own distributions, supports a direct claim. Many cases include both.

How long do I have to file?

The deadline depends on how the claim is framed. Claims founded on a written agreement carry a five-year period, claims not founded on a written instrument carry four, and fraud runs four years from discovery with a 12-year cap. Because the framing matters, get the dates reviewed before assuming you are in time.

Can a court force a buyout instead of dissolving the company?

In many cases, yes. For corporations, the company or other shareholders may elect to purchase a petitioning shareholder’s shares at fair value, and for LLCs a court may order purchase of a petitioning member’s interest. Which route is available depends on the entity and the grounds alleged.

What if the operating agreement waives or limits fiduciary duties?

Operating agreements can modify some duties, but they cannot be used to excuse every kind of misconduct. Fraud, bad faith, and intentional misappropriation remain actionable regardless of boilerplate, and the specific wording often becomes the central issue in the case.

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

The legal claims are the same, but strategy often differs. Family disputes call for discretion, careful communication, and an openness to mediation, while still protecting your financial interest and preserving the evidence you may need if negotiation fails.

Do I have to live in Florida to bring a case here?

No. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners or co-owners are in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed, so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

How long does a fiduciary duty case take in Broward County?

It varies with the amount at stake, the volume of financial records, whether emergency relief is needed, and whether the case settles at mediation. Disputes that require forensic accounting or a bench trial take longer than those resolved through a negotiated buyout, so we plan around your goals and budget from the start.

Will every case go to trial?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. We prepare each matter as though it may be tried, because that preparation is what produces favorable settlements, but we pursue the path most likely to meet your objectives efficiently.

Serving Lauderhill and the Surrounding South Florida Communities

We represent owners and investors in Lauderhill and throughout Broward County, including Lauderdale Lakes, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, North Lauderdale, Margate, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Davie, Weston, and Hollywood. Our work also extends north into Palm Beach County, where we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, and West Palm Beach.

Many of these cases involve family-run businesses, professional practices, commercial properties, and investment partnerships in these communities, and many involve owners who live elsewhere. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida work with us regularly, and we handle the Florida proceedings so they can protect their investment from a distance.

Talk With a Lauderhill Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyer Before Assets Move

If you believe a partner, co-member, or manager has been acting against the company’s interests, the strongest position comes from acting while records are intact and options are open. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, assess what the evidence supports, and explain whether the right path is negotiation, a buyout, emergency relief, or litigation. As a Lauderhill breach of fiduciary duty lawyer serving Broward and Palm Beach Counties, we are glad to discuss your situation. Call our team to schedule a consultation.