Oakland Park Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

When a partner, manager, or co-owner has put their own interests ahead of the company, the goal is usually straightforward: stop the damage, recover what was taken, and get a court to hold the person accountable for violating the trust placed in them. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for owners, investors, and families in Oakland Park, throughout Broward County, and across Palm Beach County, and an Oakland Park breach of fiduciary duty attorney from our firm can help you decide whether you have a claim and what to do about it.

Fiduciary claims tend to surface in the same few ways. A minority member discovers that distributions have stopped while the managing member’s expenses keep climbing. A partner learns that a corporate opportunity was quietly steered to a side company. A shareholder asks for the books and gets stonewalled. A manager signs the company up for a related-party deal at terms no outsider would accept. In each case the legal question is whether the person controlling the money or the decisions owed you a duty of loyalty and care, and whether they honored it.

Oakland Park has a dense base of small and mid-sized closely held companies, including family-run service businesses, light industrial and warehouse operators along the commercial corridors, restaurants, and investment property held by LLCs. Closely held businesses are exactly where fiduciary disputes thrive, because one or two people often control the bank accounts, the books, and the day-to-day decisions while others hold ownership with little visibility.

What a Fiduciary Duty Claim Actually Requires

A breach of fiduciary duty case rests on three things: a fiduciary relationship, a breach of the duties that relationship carries, and damage caused by the breach. The relationship is sometimes obvious and sometimes the main fight. Managers of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, and partners in a partnership generally owe duties to the entity and, in many situations, to their co-owners. Others, such as a majority owner dealing with a minority owner or a person who has taken control of another’s money on the strength of trust, can be fiduciaries based on the facts of how the relationship actually worked.

The duties themselves fall into two broad categories. The duty of loyalty forbids self-dealing, secret profits, competing with the company, and diverting business opportunities. The duty of care addresses reckless or grossly inattentive management. Most successful claims lean on loyalty, because the evidence of self-dealing is concrete: a transfer to an insider’s account, an undisclosed interest in a vendor, a sale of company property at a price far below value. Operating agreements and shareholder agreements can modify these duties in some respects, so the written documents matter early in any analysis.

Remedies depend on what happened. Courts can order an accounting so the full flow of money is laid out, award damages, require the return of diverted funds or profits, issue injunctions, and in the right circumstances appoint a receiver or custodian or dissolve the entity. Our firm routinely pairs a damages claim with a request for emergency relief when assets are at risk of being moved or spent while the case is pending.

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 representing clients in Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward County and Palm Beach County, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Our clients are business owners, LLC members, shareholders, minority investors, and families whose companies have been pulled apart by a co-owner or manager.

Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has built his career around contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between 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. 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. That combination matters in fiduciary cases, which can end up in circuit court or, depending on the parties and claims, federal court.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your 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 otherwise unavailable. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. As Andrew puts it, clients often think they want a hyper-aggressive lawyer, when what they really want is one who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do.

Our trial work is a matter of record. 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. Cases like that are built on detailed document work and careful presentation of the parties’ history, the same skills a fiduciary case demands. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, and we communicate with referring counsel throughout the matter.

Common Fiduciary Breach Situations in Closely Held Businesses

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner moves money to personal accounts, pays personal expenses through the company, or commingles company and personal funds. These cases often call for an accounting claim and, when assets are moving, emergency injunctive relief.
• Self-Dealing and Related-Party Transactions: The company buys from, sells to, or leases from an entity the controlling owner secretly owns, at terms that favor the insider. The duty of loyalty is the core theory, and the paper trail is usually in vendor records and bank statements.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner takes a deal, client, or property that belonged to the company and runs it through a separate entity. Remedies can include recovery of the profits the partner earned.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: The majority cuts off distributions, removes a minority member from management, denies access to books and records, or pays itself outsized compensation. These claims overlap with operating and shareholder agreement breaches and with buyout and dissolution remedies.
• Unpaid Distributions and Disputed Capital Contributions: Profits are withheld or capital put in by one owner is later treated as a loan, a gift, or never credited at all. The claim turns on the agreement and on what the books really show.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company together, parents and children with different visions, or in-laws sharing ownership. The same duties apply, but the claims are handled with discretion because the family relationship is at stake alongside the company.
• Real Estate Held Through Entities or Co-Ownership: A co-owner or manager sells, encumbers, or leases property without authority or keeps rents that belong to the group. These disputes can combine fiduciary claims with partition, title, or quiet title actions.
• Waste and Misappropriation Supporting Dissolution: When assets are being misappropriated or wasted and the company is injured, Florida’s LLC statute lists that as a ground for a court to dissolve the company, and a court can also consider a receiver or a buyout of the petitioner’s interest.

What to Do Now if You Suspect a Partner or Manager Is Breaching Their Duties

Start by preserving what you can legally access. Gather the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, the articles of organization or incorporation, tax returns, K-1s, bank statements, loan documents, financial statements, and any emails or texts about money, distributions, or major decisions. If you are a member or shareholder, you generally have statutory rights to inspect certain company records, and a written, dated request for books and records is both useful on its own and valuable evidence if the company refuses. Do not take documents or access accounts you are not authorized to reach, and do not log into company systems with credentials you were not given. Improper self-help can hand the other side a counterclaim and undercut an otherwise strong case.

Timing matters in two ways. First, assets can disappear quickly, and a court can act on short notice when the facts show money is being moved or spent. Our firm has experience obtaining temporary and permanent injunctions, including early and emergency relief, to freeze the situation while the case proceeds. Second, limitation periods run. In Florida, a claim founded on a written instrument carries a five-year period, an action on an oral or implied contract carries four years, and a fraud action carries four years from discovery, capped at 12 years. Negligence claims, including some framed around a failure of care, are now subject to a two-year period for claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, and professional malpractice claims have their own two-year discovery-based period. Which period governs a given fiduciary claim depends on how it is pleaded and on the facts, which is one more reason to have the deadline analyzed early rather than assumed.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount and the parties. Disputes above the county court ceiling go to circuit court. For a company or defendant tied to Oakland Park, that is generally the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, with the main civil docket at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. The Seventeenth Circuit also maintains a complex business division that handles matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, and cases can be directed there under the circuit’s administrative order. If the entity or the defendants are in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in West Palm Beach would hear the case.

One mistake we see often is waiting for the relationship to “work itself out” while the other side keeps controlling the books. Another is confronting the partner informally, which tips them off and gives them time to move or hide assets. A better sequence is to consult counsel first, secure the documents you are entitled to, and decide together whether the right first move is a records demand, a negotiated resolution, a mediation, or a filed complaint with a motion for emergency relief.

Remedies Beyond Damages: Accountings, Buyouts, and Dissolution

Money damages are only one part of the picture. When trust has broken down and one owner has been shown to be misusing the company, the more important question is often what the business should look like afterward. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a manager or member can ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on several grounds, including that assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury, that controlling managers or members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, that it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the company’s activities under its articles and operating agreement, or that the owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In a dissolution proceeding the court may, on a showing of sufficient merit, appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder can petition for judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or the other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value, which often converts a dissolution fight into a valuation fight. If the parties agree on fair value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. During the proceeding a court can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve corporate assets. Operating and shareholder agreements may also contain deadlock sale provisions that affect which path applies, so reading the documents is the first step before choosing a remedy.

Choosing between staying in a company, forcing a buyout, or winding it up is a business decision as much as a legal one. When the relationship can be saved, we work to resolve the dispute in a way that keeps the business running. When it cannot, we help clients separate on fair terms, whether through a negotiated buyout, a structured wind-down, or litigation in court.

Questions Oakland Park Owners Ask About Fiduciary Duty Claims

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

It is a violation of the duties of loyalty or care owed by someone who holds a position of trust over a company or its owners, such as a manager, officer, director, or partner. Typical examples are self-dealing, diverting company money, taking business opportunities for oneself, and concealing material information from co-owners.

Who can be sued for breach of fiduciary duty?

Managers and managing members of LLCs, officers and directors of corporations, and partners can all be defendants, depending on the facts. In some situations a majority owner who controls the company can owe duties to minority owners, and a person who has taken charge of another’s money on the strength of a trust relationship can be a fiduciary even without a formal title.

How long do I have to file a fiduciary duty claim in Florida?

It depends on how the claim is characterized. A claim founded on a written instrument carries five years, oral or implied contract claims carry four, and fraud carries four years from discovery with a 12-year outside limit. Negligence-based theories are subject to a two-year period for claims that arose after March 24, 2023. Because the label on the claim can change the deadline, have the timeline reviewed as soon as you suspect a problem.

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

Yes, in appropriate cases. Courts can enter temporary and permanent injunctions, and our firm seeks early and emergency relief when the evidence shows assets are at risk while the case is pending. A court may also appoint a receiver or custodian in a dissolution proceeding after notice and a hearing.

What is an accounting, and why does it matter?

An accounting is a court-supervised process that requires the party who controlled the money to lay out where it came from and where it went. It is often the key tool when one owner has the books and the other has only suspicion.

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

No. A contract claim rests on a promise in an agreement, while a fiduciary claim rests on duties imposed by the relationship itself. Many disputes include both, for example when a managing member violates the operating agreement and also self-deals. The two claims can carry different deadlines and different remedies.

I live in New York or New Jersey and my partner is in South Florida. Can your firm handle the case?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business partners or co-owners in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and proceedings and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can I be forced out of my own LLC if I raise these concerns?

Your operating agreement controls much of this, and many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions. Florida law also provides remedies when a member engages in serious misconduct or the company can no longer function. Retaliatory exclusion can itself support a claim, so document any change in your access, pay, or role after you raised questions.

What happens if my business partner is also a family member?

The legal duties are the same, but the case requires more discretion and often more creativity in how it is resolved. We handle these disputes with that in mind while still protecting your financial interests at every step, and mediation is frequently worth serious consideration when the relationship matters outside the company.

Does a fiduciary duty dispute always end up in a courtroom?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and an arbitration clause in your agreement may require it. Our attorneys are experienced in alternative dispute resolution as well as trial, and we pursue the path most likely to achieve your goals efficiently.

Do I need a lawyer if the amount involved is relatively small?

A lawyer can still be worthwhile if the harm extends beyond the dollar figure, such as control of the company, your ownership stake, or ongoing losses. County court handles claims within its monetary limit, and a short consultation can tell you whether the cost of pursuing the claim makes sense compared with the likely recovery.

How long does a business fiduciary case typically take in Broward County?

It varies with the complexity, the volume of financial records, and whether emergency relief, a receiver, or a valuation fight is involved. Cases that settle after an early injunction hearing or mediation can resolve far faster than those that go through discovery and a bench or jury trial. We discuss realistic timing and cost with you at the outset rather than drawing out a case for its own sake.

Representing Fiduciary Duty Clients From Oakland Park Across South Florida

Our work for Oakland Park clients begins in the city’s commercial and residential neighborhoods and extends across Broward County. We represent owners and investors in Oakland Park itself and in neighboring Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Hollywood, and Hallandale Beach. Business disputes in these communities often involve restaurants and retail operators, trades and service companies, medical and professional practices, and real estate held through LLCs.

We also handle matters in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens, and we regularly work with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners or co-owners are here in South Florida. Whether your dispute belongs in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, or federal court in the Southern District of Florida, our team can assess where the case should be heard and how to proceed.

Speak With an Oakland Park Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyer

If you believe a partner, manager, or co-owner has betrayed the trust that came with their role, the sooner the facts are examined, the more options you are likely to have. An Oakland Park breach of fiduciary duty lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, assess the evidence, explain the deadlines that apply, and recommend whether to pursue negotiation, mediation, or a filed case with emergency relief.

Call our team today to schedule a consultation. We will listen to what happened, tell you plainly what we see, and map out a path that protects what you have built.