Breach of Fiduciary Duty Cases

Most businesses require the formation of at least a few fiduciary relationships, including between, business partners, shareholders, bankers, attorneys, and more.  Each of these parties is legally bound to put your company’s best interests above its own, but law and human nature do not always mix.  When business partners fail to live up to their duty to act in a company’s best interests, litigation is a common result.  If your California business has suffered from – or might suffer from – a breach of fiduciary duty, Chatow Law may be able to help.

Proving Fiduciary Duty Breaches in California

To prove a breach of fiduciary duty, we must demonstrate the following:

• The agent had a fiduciary duty of care to the plaintiff. That is, we must prove that a fiduciary relationship existed in the first place. 
• The agent breached their duty. We’ll have to show the specific actions taken and why those actions violated the defendant’s fiduciary duty.
• The plaintiff suffered financial losses as a result of the breach.
• The breach caused damage. 

It’s important to work closely with a business lawyer as soon as you believe a breach of fiduciary duty has been made. The statute of limitations for a breach of fiduciary duty case in California is 4 years. Moving quickly is important to protect your ability to press your claim, especially if the breach of fiduciary duty may have happened well before you found out about it.

It’s equally important to move quickly if you are the party accused of a fiduciary breach.  The legal consequences can be severe. Often fiduciary breach claims co-occur with partnership disputes, because business partners all have a fiduciary duty to one another.  The legal consequences can be severe.

Examples of Fiduciary Breaches

Though embezzlement is the first kind of breach that comes to mind, it is not the only way in which an agent can betray an employer’s trust.

Fiduciaries can also share trade secrets, act in a negligent manner, or benefit competitors in return for kickbacks. A breach can even describe instances of a fiduciary’s failure to share relevant information in certain situations.

Those who bear a fiduciary duty to you have an obligation to act in good faith, and not purely out of self-interest, putting the company’s interests above their own. 

Legal Outcomes of Breaches of Fiduciary Duty Cases in California

A victim of a fiduciary duty breach can receive direct compensation for financial losses, court costs, attorneys’ fees, and other associated expenses. 

It may also be possible to seek the revocation of the professional’s license. 

Litigating Breaches of Fiduciary Duty on a Contingency Basis

It is possible that we can litigate your case on a contingency basis, rather than on a pay-as-you go hourly basis.  Probably because of the damages and possibly for other reasons, your money may be tied up temporarily.  We understand that, which is why we may be able to work you in such a way that you only pay a percentage of the settlement or judgment if and when we win your case and you collect your award.  You can find out more about the contingency business litigation option here.