Margate Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

Most fiduciary duty fights are not about a dramatic theft. They start with a partner who stops sharing the books, a manager who steers a deal to a company he secretly owns, or a co-owner whose “expenses” keep growing while distributions shrink. If you are looking for a Margate breach of fiduciary duty attorney, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles these disputes for business owners, LLC members, shareholders, investors, and families across Broward County and Palm Beach County.

The claim itself is simple to state: someone who owed you loyalty and honest dealing put their own interests ahead of yours and you were hurt by it. Proving it is another matter. It usually comes down to documents, bank records, operating agreements, and the history of how the owners actually dealt with each other. That is where these cases are won or lost.

Where Fiduciary Duty Claims Come From

A fiduciary duty is not owed in every business relationship. It arises from the role a person plays. Managers of an LLC, corporate officers and directors, controlling shareholders, general partners, trustees, and agents handling someone else’s money or property can all owe duties of loyalty and care. The first question in any case is whether the person you are accusing actually owed you that duty, and the answer often depends on the operating agreement, the shareholder agreement, and how the company was really run.

Margate sits in the middle of a busy commercial corridor in northwest Broward County, with small businesses, professional practices, restaurants, contractors, medical offices, and rental properties all within a short drive. Many of these are closely held companies with two or three owners and very little formal governance. That informality is exactly what makes fiduciary disputes common. When nobody has been watching the books, a breakdown in trust can go unnoticed for years.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Margate and the rest of Broward County, along with Palm Beach County and communities throughout South Florida. The firm represents business owners, investors, and families in partnership disputes, business divorces, contract litigation, and conflicts over money that has gone missing. Many clients come from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and hold business or real estate interests here; we handle the local court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes and conflicts between partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the territory where fiduciary duty claims live. 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.

The firm works as a true team, so everyone on your matter knows the file. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy, and we answer the phone when you call. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and your budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

The firm also has recent trial results in this region. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of record matters in fiduciary cases, which are often decided by a judge sitting without a jury, on a detailed paper trail.

Common Fiduciary Duty Situations We See

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner moves money into personal accounts, pays personal expenses through the business, or commingles company and personal funds so no one can trace where the money went.
• Self-Dealing: An owner or officer steers contracts, leases, or opportunities to a company he or she controls, often on terms the business would never have accepted from an outsider.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner takes a deal, client, or property that belonged to the company and pursues it personally.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: A controlling member or shareholder cuts a minority owner out of decisions, information, distributions, or compensation while continuing to pay himself or herself.
• Unpaid Distributions and Disputed Contributions: Profits that should have been shared are withheld, or capital contributions are disputed and recorded in ways that dilute one owner’s stake.
• Refusal to Provide Books and Records: An owner who is being stonewalled on financial statements, tax returns, and bank records often has the first sign that something is wrong.
• Family Business Betrayals: Siblings, parents, children, or in-laws who co-own a company or property, where one relative controls the money and the others are left without answers.
• Misuse of Entrusted Property: An agent, trustee, or manager responsible for real estate or investments sells, encumbers, or neglects the asset for personal benefit.

What to Do If You Suspect a Partner or Manager Is Breaching Their Duty

Start by getting the paper. Pull your operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, and any amendments. Collect tax returns, K-1s, profit and loss statements, bank statements you already have access to, and emails or texts that discuss money, ownership, or decisions. Do this before you confront anyone. Once a dispute turns openly hostile, access to records can disappear quickly.

Resist the urge to investigate on your own in ways that create new problems. Do not log into accounts you are not authorized to use, and do not remove originals from company premises. An attorney can demand books and records through the proper channels and, if needed, ask a court to compel them.

Pay attention to deadlines. Florida sets different limitations periods depending on the theory of the claim. A claim founded on a written instrument has five years, while a contract claim that is not based on a writing has four years. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery, with an outer cap of 12 years. Because a single set of facts can support several theories at once, the right deadline depends on how the case is built, and waiting too long can eliminate a claim you could have brought.

If money is actively leaving the company, the question becomes whether you need emergency relief. A court can issue an injunction to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. In disputes involving an LLC, a court can also appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, if the case shows sufficient merit. These tools work best when requested early and backed by solid documents.

Cases like these are generally filed in circuit court because the amounts at stake usually exceed the county court limit. Margate is in Broward County, which is served by the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. That circuit has a complex business division that handles, among other things, certain business entity dissolution cases and large business litigation, and a case can be directed there under the circuit’s administrative order. If the business or property connects to Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit is the court that sits there. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida may come into play when the parties or claims meet federal jurisdictional requirements, with sessions in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

The most common mistake is waiting to see if things get better. Another is signing a buyout, release, or settlement drafted by the other side before anyone has seen the real numbers. Get the financial picture first, then decide.

When a Fiduciary Dispute Leads to Dissolution or a Buyout

Sometimes the breach is so deep that the owners cannot keep operating together. Florida’s LLC statute allows a member or manager to ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on several grounds, including that assets are being misappropriated or wasted and causing injury, that controlling members or managers have acted or are reasonably expected to act illegally or fraudulently, that it is not reasonably practicable to run the business under its articles and operating agreement, or that deadlocked owners cannot break the impasse and irreparable injury is threatened. In those proceedings the court can appoint a receiver or custodian, or order a purchase of the petitioner’s interest instead of dissolving the company.

Corporations have their own framework. A shareholder who petitions for judicial dissolution can find that the corporation, or the 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. These buyout elections are generally irrevocable unless a court finds it equitable to modify or set them aside, so the decision to petition or to elect should be made carefully.

Many operating and shareholder agreements also contain their own exit mechanisms, such as deadlock sale provisions. If one is triggered before a court finds that deadlock grounds exist, it can control over a judicial dissolution order. That is why reading your agreement carefully, before filing anything, can change the entire strategy.

Real property adds another layer. When co-owners of a Broward County property can no longer agree, a partition action in chancery can divide the property or order it sold with proceeds shared among the owners. Our real estate practice also covers title disputes and quiet title actions when competing ownership claims cloud a property.

Answers to Common Questions About Fiduciary Duty Claims

What is a breach of fiduciary duty?

It happens when someone who owes you a duty of loyalty or care, such as a manager, partner, officer, or trustee, acts in their own interest at your expense. Typical examples include taking company money, self-dealing, hiding information, and competing with the business they are supposed to be running.

Who can owe me a fiduciary duty in a business?

LLC managers, corporate officers and directors, controlling shareholders, general partners, agents, and trustees can all owe these duties. Whether a particular person does depends on their role, the governing agreements, and the facts of the relationship.

What can I recover if I win?

Remedies can include money damages, return of diverted funds, an accounting of company finances, removal or restriction of the wrongdoer, and in some cases a court-ordered buyout or dissolution. The right mix depends on what was taken and what you want the business to look like afterward.

What is an accounting, and why does it matter?

An accounting is a court-supervised review of where money came from and where it went. It is often the first step when you cannot tell how much is missing, because it forces the person in control of the books to produce records and explain transactions.

How long do I have to file?

It depends on how the claim is framed. Written-instrument claims carry a five-year period, non-written contract claims four years, and fraud four years from discovery with a 12-year outer cap. A fiduciary case often involves more than one theory, so we assess the deadlines for each before you lose any of them.

Can I sue if I only own a minority share?

Yes. Minority owners are often the ones most exposed to a breach, because they lack control over the books and decisions. Minority status does not prevent a claim, and it can strengthen the argument for access to records, an accounting, or a court-ordered buyout.

Is a fiduciary duty claim different from a breach of contract claim?

Yes, though they often appear together. A contract claim enforces the terms of an agreement. A fiduciary claim is based on the relationship itself and the duty of loyalty that comes with it. A case can plead both when the facts support each.

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

Often, yes. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to protect company assets and property during a dispute, and early or emergency relief is available when the facts justify it. The strength of your documents matters a great deal at this stage.

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

The legal claims are the same, but the handling is different. These cases carry personal weight, and many clients want a solution that preserves what can be preserved. We approach them with discretion while still protecting your financial position.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own part of a Broward County business. Can you still 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 proceedings, keep you informed, and schedule calls at times that work for you.

Does every fiduciary dispute end up in a courtroom?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, depending on the facts and what your agreements require. We pursue the path most likely to reach your goals efficiently, and we prepare every case as if it may be tried.

Will I need documents before I call?

It helps, but you do not need a complete file. Bring whatever you have, including the operating agreement, tax forms, bank records, and key emails. We can identify what else is needed and how to get it.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients Across Margate and South Florida

We represent clients in Margate and throughout Broward County, including Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Tamarac, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Parkland, Lauderhill, Sunrise, Plantation, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work extends into Palm Beach County as well, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach to Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach. Whether your business is a storefront in a neighborhood plaza, a professional practice, a contracting company, or a rental property held with relatives, the same principles apply and the same courts are within reach.

We also work with referring attorneys, including out of state counsel and Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation, and we keep them informed throughout the matter.

Talk With a Margate Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyer

If you believe a partner, manager, or co-owner has put themselves ahead of you, the time to act is while records are still available and money can still be traced. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, assess your claims, and tell you plainly what a realistic outcome looks like. Contact our team today to speak with a Margate breach of fiduciary duty lawyer about your situation.