Business & Partnership Dispute Attorney San Diego
Whether small, medium, or large, business disputes between shareholders, partners, officers, companies, and outside resources arise regularly. We are San Diego corporate and partnership dispute lawyers representing individuals and businesses, as both plaintiffs and defendants.
While some disputes can be handled internally, a significant amount requires legal assistance. This is particularly true when the dispute involves multiple parties and piles of documents, such as years of email correspondence and draft contracts.
In some cases, the future of the company may be at stake. Taking legal action may be the only way to get past a stalemate.
Our lawyers represent parties in pre-litigation disputes and in full-blown litigation. We are skilled in assisting both individuals and businesses develop cases, clarify the facts, and protect their rights.
Breach of Fiduciary Duties
Fiduciary duties are laws imposed when there is a relationship of a high degree of trust and confidence, such as with lawyers, real estate agents, and trust administrators.
Similarly, anyone with a position of ownership or authority in a business, who makes financial decisions on behalf of shareholders or partners, holds a high duty of care.
Acting against another’s best interests in these circumstances is often considered a breach of fiduciary duty, and can easily lead to litigation with heightened damages, such as punitive damages.
Some of the issues we routinely handle in this arena, for both plaintiffs and defendants, are:
- Company Mismanagement. While officers, directors, majority shareholders, and partners must act prudently in their work and investigate before making decisions, the law does not hold them to perfection and allows them to exercise their judgment. We can examine the corporate bylaws, partnership agreements, California law, and the individual’s duties and actions. We can try to mediate the dispute, or bring or defend a lawsuit.
- Lack of Loyalty to the Company. Officers, directors, majority shareholders, and partners must act with the company’s interests in mind. This requires putting the company interests before their own or another company’s. They also cannot compete with the business. We can examine the individuals’ duties and actions to resolve matters early, or bring or defend a legal action.
- Company Theft. Officers, directors, majority shareholders, and partners should not treat the company’s money as their own. However, loans to the company and compensation have their appropriate place. Again, this depends on the circumstances, and whether such conduct is legitimate is a question best posed to a business lawyer.
Involuntary Dissolution
On a related note, our business lawyers also handle involuntary dissolutions. When a business cannot internally come to an agreement on vital business processes, or when there is fraud or other circumstances, owners can ask the court to dissolve the company. Especially in stalemate, this may be the only way for owners to “cash out” and move on.
Finding a San Diego Business Attorney
Our team of San Diego corporate and partnership attorneys are committed to helping businesses and individuals find appropriate solutions to solve disputes.
We often successfully settle cases out of court, but we are a litigation firm and, thus, fully prepared to file a lawsuit and take a case to trial when the circumstances require.
Minority owners especially should consider enlisting the legal help. They can be assured the company will hire competent and often well-funded legal counsel — they stand little chance in court without representation.
Call us at 619-696-0017 or fill out the contact form below to learn more about our personal approach to business law, and to receive a complimentary case evaluation.