Parkland Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

When a co-owner in a Parkland-area company starts steering money, opportunities, or decisions toward their own benefit, the damage is usually done quietly, through accounts you cannot see and choices you were never consulted on. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, LLC members, shareholders, and investors in business and real estate disputes across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a Parkland breach of fiduciary duty attorney from our firm can step in when someone who owed you loyalty and candor failed to deliver either.

A fiduciary claim is different from an ordinary contract dispute. A contract claim asks whether a promise was broken. A fiduciary claim asks whether a person in a position of trust put their own interests ahead of the company or the co-owners who relied on them. Managers of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, and partners in a business all carry duties of this kind, and the claim often exists even when the operating agreement or shareholder agreement says nothing about the specific conduct at issue.

These cases tend to surface in a few recognizable ways: distributions that stop arriving, financial statements that no longer reconcile, a partner who forms a competing entity, or a manager who pays himself or his relatives from company funds. Each requires a different response, and the first decisions made, particularly about preserving records and stopping the movement of assets, shape everything that follows.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business litigation and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families throughout Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests here. 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. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. His practice has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the setting in which most fiduciary breaches arise.

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 matters in this area because fiduciary disputes sometimes move between forums, and a case that begins in a Broward or Palm Beach circuit court can have federal dimensions depending on the parties and claims involved.

The firm works as a true legal team, meaning everyone assigned to a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy, and out of state clients can rely on us to handle local court appearances so they are not traveling for every hearing. We are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

The firm also has a record in contested trials. In a commercial real estate matter, following a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of the contract. Cases that end in a detailed written judgment reward lawyers who build the evidentiary record carefully, and fiduciary claims are won or lost on exactly that kind of record.

Fiduciary Breaches We See in Business and Real Estate Disputes

• Self-Dealing by a Manager or Majority Owner: A controlling member approves contracts with companies he owns, leases company property to himself at below-market rates, or pays inflated fees to affiliated entities. The claim turns on whether the transaction was fair to the company and whether it was properly disclosed.
• Diverted Company Funds: Money leaves the business for personal expenses, family members, or unrelated ventures. These cases often involve commingled accounts, and they frequently call for an accounting to trace where the money went.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner learns of a deal, customer, or property through the company and takes it personally instead of presenting it to the business. Competing ventures launched while the person is still an owner or manager fall in the same category.
• Unpaid or Withheld Distributions: A majority owner or manager declines to distribute profits to minority members while compensating himself through salary, bonuses, or expenses. Minority owners are especially vulnerable to this pattern.
• Concealment and Refusal to Provide Records: Managers who stonewall requests for books, tax returns, bank statements, or operating records often have something in them they would rather not explain. Withholding information can itself support a claim and a request for court-ordered access.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: Members are removed from management, excluded from meetings, or diluted without justification. These cases overlap with deadlock, buyout, and judicial dissolution disputes.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings, parents, and in-laws who share ownership may owe each other fiduciary duties as co-owners and managers, and the personal history makes the financial questions harder to resolve without a lawyer who handles them with discretion.
• Co-Owner Conflicts Over Real Property: A co-owner who collects rent, retains sale proceeds, or manages a shared investment property without accounting to the others can face fiduciary and accounting claims alongside partition or title disputes.

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

Start by securing what you are legally entitled to have. As a member, shareholder, or partner you generally hold rights to company books and records, and you should gather what you already have: operating or shareholder agreements, tax returns, K-1s, bank statements, financial statements, emails, and any written communications about distributions or major transactions. Do this quietly and through proper channels. Copying files you are not authorized to access can create problems of its own, so if you are unsure what you may lawfully take, ask a lawyer before you act.

Do not confront the other owner with detailed accusations before you understand what the records show. A confrontation tends to prompt deletion, transfers, and a defensive narrative. A better first move is a document-focused review of the numbers and the governing agreements, followed by a considered decision about whether the situation calls for negotiation, a formal demand, or immediate court action.

Timing matters, and the limitations period depends on how the claim is framed. Claims founded on a written agreement carry a five-year period under Florida law, while claims on oral or implied agreements carry four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer cap of 12 years. Negligence claims were cut to two years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023, and professional malpractice claims run two years from discovery. Because a single set of facts can support several theories with different clocks, you should not assume the longest period applies to your situation.

When the concern is that money or assets are being moved while you wait, the better question is whether you need emergency relief. Florida courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions, and in dissolution proceedings they can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, or take other steps to preserve company assets. Seeking that relief early, supported by clear documentation, is often the difference between a recoverable claim and an empty judgment.

Venue is a practical consideration for Parkland owners. Parkland sits in Broward County, whose circuit court is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Business cases above the county court limit are heard in circuit court, and the Seventeenth Circuit has a complex business division that handles matters such as the dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation. A case may be filed directly into that division by following the circuit’s administrative order and submitting the required form with the Clerk at filing. If a company or property is tied to Palm Beach County instead, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit would be the court. Federal claims or diversity cases may belong in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

How Fiduciary Claims Connect to Dissolution, Buyouts, and Emergency Relief

A fiduciary breach is frequently the factual foundation for a broader remedy. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a member or manager may ask a circuit court to dissolve the company when assets are being misappropriated or wasted and injury results, when controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, or when it is no longer reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement. Deadlock between managers or members, combined with irreparable injury to the company, is another recognized ground. In these proceedings a court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations follow a parallel track. A shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or the other shareholders can respond by electing to buy the petitioner’s shares 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. The corporation must also notify the other shareholders within 30 days of the proceeding’s start that they may avoid dissolution by electing to purchase. Those mechanics shape negotiating leverage, which is why they should be considered before a complaint is drafted rather than after.

Operating and shareholder agreements can change this picture. A deadlock sale provision that is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds can displace a judicial dissolution order, so the exact language of your agreement matters. Our work on these cases includes reading the document against the history of the parties’ dealings, because courts care about both.

Remedies in a fiduciary case can include an accounting, recovery of diverted funds, damages, and, where the facts warrant, removal of the offending party from management or a negotiated separation. Many cases resolve through mediation or a structured buyout once the numbers are clear. Where they do not, litigation provides the tools to compel discovery and obtain a judgment.

Questions Parkland Owners Ask About Fiduciary Duty Claims

What is a fiduciary duty in a business setting?

It is a legal obligation to act with loyalty and care toward the company and, in many situations, toward co-owners. Managers, officers, directors, and partners typically owe these duties, which generally prohibit self-dealing, taking company opportunities for personal gain, and concealing material information.

Who can sue for breach of fiduciary duty?

Depending on the entity and the claim, a company, a member, a shareholder, or a partner may have standing. Some claims belong to the company itself and are brought derivatively, while others belong to an owner individually. Identifying which category fits your facts is an early and important decision.

How is a fiduciary duty claim different from a breach of contract claim?

A contract claim depends on a specific promise and its terms. A fiduciary claim depends on a relationship of trust and the standards of conduct that come with it, so it can reach conduct the agreement never addressed. Many cases plead both, and the choice affects deadlines and available remedies.

What proof do I need to bring a claim?

Bank records, accounting entries, tax filings, emails, and the governing agreements are the usual foundation. You do not need a complete case before consulting a lawyer, since discovery and court-ordered accountings can fill gaps, but you do need enough to support a good faith basis for the allegations.

Can a court freeze assets while the case is pending?

Florida courts can grant temporary injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent during a dispute, and in dissolution proceedings they can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing. The relief depends on the evidence you present and the urgency of the risk.

How long do I have to file?

It depends on how the claim is characterized. Written-contract claims have a five-year period, oral or implied contract claims four years, fraud claims four years from discovery with a 12-year cap, and negligence claims two years for causes of action accruing after March 24, 2023. Because one set of facts can support several claims, you should have a lawyer analyze your deadlines promptly.

Do I need to prove the partner intended to cheat me?

Not always. Some fiduciary breaches involve intentional misconduct, while others rest on conflicts of interest or a failure to disclose, where fairness to the company is the central question. Intent can still matter for certain remedies and for related fraud claims.

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

The legal duties are the same, but the practical handling differs. Family disputes often benefit from earlier mediation and careful communication, while the financial claims are still developed fully so a settlement reflects the real numbers rather than relationship pressure.

Can I be forced out of the company because I raised these concerns?

Retaliatory freeze-outs and removals are themselves a common source of fiduciary claims. Your rights depend on the operating or shareholder agreement and Florida’s business entity statutes, so any removal or buyout offer should be reviewed before you respond or sign anything.

Will my case be heard in Broward or Palm Beach County?

That depends on where the company is based, where the conduct occurred, and what the agreements say about venue. Broward matters go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit and Palm Beach matters to the Fifteenth. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida may be an option or a requirement in some cases.

I live out of state. Can I still pursue a claim over a Florida business?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or property in South Florida. We handle the local filings and court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every proceeding.

Do all of these disputes end up in a trial?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or a negotiated buyout once the evidence is organized and the risks on each side are clear. We prepare each case as though it may be tried, because that preparation usually produces better settlement outcomes.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients From Parkland Across South Florida

We represent clients from Parkland and the neighboring Broward communities of Coral Springs, Margate, Coconut Creek, Tamarac, and Sunrise, and through Plantation, Davie, Weston, Pembroke Pines, and Fort Lauderdale. Our work extends along the coast through Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, and Hollywood, and throughout Broward County generally.

We also serve owners and investors in neighboring Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach. Whether the dispute involves a closely held company, a shared investment property, or a family business, we handle the case in the court where it belongs. Clients with ties to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold interests in these South Florida communities are welcome as well.

Speak With a Parkland Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyer Before Assets Move

If you believe a partner, manager, or co-owner has put their own interests ahead of yours, the sooner the records are reviewed and a plan is set, the more options you will have. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can evaluate your agreements, the financial evidence, and the deadlines that apply, then recommend whether to negotiate, seek emergency relief, or pursue a claim in court. Call us to schedule a consultation with a Parkland breach of fiduciary duty lawyer who will give you a candid assessment of where your case stands.