West Palm Beach Breach of Fiduciary Duty Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, LLC members, shareholders, investors, and family co-owners in West Palm Beach and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County when someone who was trusted with their money, their company, or their property used that position for personal gain. A West Palm Beach breach of fiduciary duty attorney is usually called in at a specific moment: the books stop adding up, a partner stops sharing information, or a manager makes a decision that benefits himself at the company’s expense.

Fiduciary claims are different from ordinary contract disputes because the law holds certain people to a higher standard than simply keeping a promise. Managers of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, general partners, and people handling money for others owe duties of loyalty and care. When a fiduciary self-deals, diverts opportunities, hides records, or spends company funds as if they were personal funds, the injured owner may have claims that reach beyond what the written agreement says.

These cases tend to unfold in stages. They begin with a quiet period of suspicion and document gathering, move to a demand or an emergency motion if assets are at risk, and then proceed through discovery, which in fiduciary cases often means forensic review of bank records and ledgers. Many resolve through negotiated buyouts or mediation; some are tried to a judge. Knowing which stage you are in shapes every decision that follows.

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

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and holds his undergraduate degree from Emory University (1986) and his law degree from the University of Miami (1989). His career has been built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the setting in which most fiduciary claims arise.

Andrew 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 here because fiduciary disputes sometimes belong in federal court, and the Southern District of Florida holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the team is in court. Clients often arrive expecting to hire the loudest lawyer available; the firm’s approach is to act as the situation requires and use finesse where finesse will do, keeping legal fees in proportion to what is actually at stake.

The firm’s track record includes a 32-page final judgment issued by the Broward County Circuit Court after a five-day bench trial, awarding a client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it handles local court appearances for clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or property in South Florida, as well as matters referred by other attorneys.

Situations That Give Rise to Fiduciary Duty Claims

• Diverted Company Funds: A manager or partner pays personal expenses from company accounts, moves money into a side entity, or commingles business and personal funds. These cases often call for an accounting and, when assets are moving, emergency injunctive relief.
• Self-Dealing Transactions: A controlling member causes the company to buy from, sell to, or lease from an entity he secretly owns, on terms that favor him rather than the company.
• Usurped Business Opportunities: A partner steers a deal, client, or property acquisition to himself that rightfully belonged to the business.
• Freeze-Outs of Minority Owners: Majority owners cut off distributions, remove a minority member from management, withhold financial information, or inflate their own compensation to starve out the other owners.
• Unpaid Distributions and Disputed Capital: A manager refuses to distribute profits owed under the operating agreement, or disputes what a member actually contributed.
• Family Business Betrayals: Siblings, parents, children, or in-laws who co-own a company disagree about control and compensation, and one relative uses the managing role to benefit himself. These cases call for discretion alongside firm protection of the client’s financial position.
• Misconduct in Real Estate Ventures: A co-owner or managing partner of an investment property mishandles rents, sale proceeds, or capital meant for the property, or tries to cloud title in his own favor.
• Waste and Mismanagement: Assets are being wasted or misappropriated to the point that the company’s survival is threatened, which can also support a request for judicial dissolution or a court-appointed receiver.

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

Start by securing information you are already entitled to see. Members, partners, and shareholders generally have rights to inspect company records, and your operating agreement or shareholder agreement may add to them. Collect bank statements, tax returns, K-1s, financial statements, the operating agreement, any amendments, emails about money or major decisions, and records of what you contributed. Do this before the other side senses a dispute and starts restricting access. Do not access accounts or systems you are not authorized to use; evidence obtained improperly can hurt your case rather than help it.

Timing matters in two ways. Deadlines for filing suit vary by the type of claim, and Florida law sets different periods for different causes of action. A claim founded on a written instrument carries five years, a claim on an oral or implied contract carries four years, and fraud carries four years from discovery, capped at 12 years. Negligence-based claims now carry just two years for causes of action that accrued after March 24, 2023, and professional malpractice claims have their own two-year period running from discovery. Because a single fiduciary dispute can involve several of these theories at once, do not assume you have the longest period available. Having a lawyer map the deadlines early is far safer than guessing.

The second kind of timing is practical. If money or property is being moved, waiting for a final judgment may mean there is nothing left to collect. Florida courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions, and in LLC dissolution cases a court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing with notice to the parties, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. If your operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision, that clause can affect your options, so read it before taking any step that might trigger it.

As for where the case goes, circuit-level disputes in Palm Beach County are heard by the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, sitting at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, while Broward County matters go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Fiduciary claims involving significant money exceed the county court limit and belong in circuit court. Broward’s circuit also has a complex business division that handles, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation. If the parties are from different states and the amount at stake is large enough, the Southern District of Florida may also be a venue.

The most common mistakes are confronting the partner before preserving evidence, continuing to sign company documents or tax returns you do not understand, and delaying until the accounts are empty. A confidential consultation early on lets you decide whether the better path is a negotiated exit, a demand for an accounting, or an emergency filing.

How Fiduciary Breaches Connect to Dissolution, Buyouts, and Recovery

A fiduciary claim rarely stands alone. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a manager or member can seek judicial dissolution when assets are being misappropriated or wasted and the company is injured, when controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, or when managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened or occurring. Courts may respond with a receiver, a custodian, or an order requiring purchase of the petitioner’s interest. For corporations, a shareholder can seek court-ordered dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders may elect to purchase 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 directing the purchase on those terms. Such an election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it.

That structure explains why the same facts can lead to very different outcomes. One client wants damages and an accounting and the company to keep running. Another wants out at a fair price. A third needs the business wound down before the assets disappear. Part of the early work is deciding which result serves your goals and budget, then building the claims and the remedy requests to match. Where the dispute involves jointly owned real property, related remedies such as partition and quiet title may be added to the same case.

Questions About Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims in West Palm Beach

What is a breach of fiduciary duty?

It occurs when a person who owes duties of loyalty and care to a company or its owners acts in his own interest instead, such as by self-dealing, diverting funds, concealing information, or wasting assets. The duty arises from the relationship itself, not just from a contract.

Who counts as a fiduciary in a business?

Managers and managing members of an LLC, officers and directors of a corporation, general partners, and others who hold and control money or decisions on behalf of owners can be fiduciaries. The scope depends on the entity type, the governing documents, and the person’s actual role.

What can I recover if a partner is taking money from the company?

Depending on the facts, remedies can include an accounting, return of diverted funds, damages, and in urgent situations an injunction to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. In some cases the remedy is a buyout or dissolution.

How long do I have to file suit?

It depends on the theory. Florida gives five years for claims founded on a written instrument and four years for oral or implied contracts. Fraud runs four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. Negligence claims accruing after March 24, 2023 are limited to two years. Because several of these can apply at once, act promptly rather than relying on the longest period.

Do I need to prove my partner meant to steal?

Not always. Some fiduciary claims turn on self-dealing, undisclosed conflicts, or failure to account for funds, rather than on proof of criminal intent. The facts and the governing agreement determine what must be shown.

Can I get access to the company’s books before filing suit?

Owners often have statutory and contractual inspection rights. A written records request, made with legal guidance, can both yield useful information and create a clear record if the company refuses.

Can a court take control of a company during the case?

In appropriate cases, yes. A Florida court may appoint a receiver or custodian in a dissolution proceeding after notice and a hearing, and it may issue injunctions to preserve assets. These steps are not automatic and require a showing of sufficient merit.

My operating agreement says disputes go to arbitration. Does that end my court options?

Not necessarily. Whether a particular fiduciary claim is covered depends on the clause’s wording, and courts may still be involved in emergency relief or enforcement. The agreement needs to be read closely before deciding where to file.

Does it matter that the partner is also a family member?

The legal duties are the same, but the strategy often differs. Family disputes frequently call for confidentiality and for a resolution that preserves the business and, where possible, the relationship. The firm handles these matters with discretion while still protecting your financial interests.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to come to West Palm Beach for hearings?

Generally not. The firm handles local court appearances and proceedings for out of state clients and keeps them informed at each stage, with conference calls scheduled at times that work for everyone.

How long does a fiduciary duty case usually last?

It varies with the amount of money, the number of parties, and whether emergency relief is needed. An early injunction hearing can happen quickly, while a case that goes through full discovery and a bench trial takes considerably longer. Many resolve earlier through mediation or a negotiated buyout.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the amount involved is modest?

Often a lawyer’s early involvement can resolve the matter cheaply, by sending a demand, requesting records, or negotiating an exit. The firm aims for a resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Serving Fiduciary Duty Clients Across West Palm Beach and South Florida

The firm’s fiduciary and business litigation work begins in West Palm Beach and extends across Palm Beach County, including Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Riviera Beach, North Palm Beach, Greenacres, Palm Springs, and Belle Glade. From there the team serves clients in Boca Raton and the surrounding communities.

The firm also represents owners and investors in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, Hollywood, and neighboring cities where disputes land in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida are regular parts of the practice, as are matters sent by other attorneys whose clients have disputes in Florida.

Speak With a West Palm Beach Fiduciary Duty Lawyer

If a partner, manager, or co-owner has misused a position of trust and your company, investment, or property is at risk, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements and records, explain which claims and remedies fit, and tell you plainly what a realistic path looks like. Reaching out to a West Palm Beach fiduciary duty lawyer early often preserves options that disappear once money moves or deadlines pass. Call the team to schedule a consultation.