Partnership and Fiduciary Disputes

A fiduciary duty is a legal or ethical obligation by a person or entity to act in the best interests of another. Business partners, managers, corporate directors and officers, and trustees owe fiduciary duties. Poole Huffman regularly represents business owners in disputes with the company, co-owners or shareholders, including terminating companies or an owner’s involvement. Often, the crux of the dispute involves a breach of fiduciary duty.

Generally fiduciary duties fall into two main categories: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care is a fiduciary’s responsibility to exercise sound judgment when making decisions on behalf of the principal. The duty of loyalty is the fiduciary’s responsibility to act in the best interests of the company, even when those interests conflict with fiduciary’s own.

If you believe a fiduciary is not acting in your best interests, Poole Huffman can help you sort out your claims.

We represented an investor who accepted a management contract in lieu of a minority ownership position. The company refused to pay the investor and we sued for $500,000 in management fees. The company counterclaimed for $3,000,000 in damages arising from claims of mismanagement. We tried a one-week jury trial, and the investor prevailed for all of his fees and defeated the counterclaim.

We negotiated a favorable split when the co-owner of a salon opened a competing salon nearby, then used the co-owned business resources to direct business to her own endeavor.

We successfully defended a motion for a temporary restraining order where non-owners of a business claimed ownership due to poor company documentation.

We successfully removed a 25% partner from a business by suing to remove him as manager due to mismanagement, breach of fiduciary duty, and other claims, resulting in a buyout of that partner for $500,000 less than market value.