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All Business Dispute Practice Areas
Alabama · Georgia · South Carolina
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyers
Duties of Loyalty and Care in Closely Held Companies
Partners, officers, directors, and managers owe the company duties of loyalty and care. Where a fiduciary self-deals, diverts an opportunity, or prefers their own interest, the company has a claim for the resulting loss.
Serving Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina · Commercial litigation and dispute counsel
Flexible Fee Structures
Contingency · Hourly · Hybrid
Seven Days a Week
Free, confidential consultation
Three States
Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina
The Governing State
Your State's Rules Control Your Dispute
Contract deadlines and forums differ across the three states we serve. South Carolina gives half the time Alabama and Georgia do. Choose the state where your dispute sits for the law that applies to your company.
Overview
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Lawyers Serving Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina
A fiduciary duty is the highest obligation the law imposes in a business relationship, and it is owed by the people the company has the least reason to watch. Our breach of fiduciary duty lawyers represent companies, LLC members, and shareholders across Jefferson County, Shelby County, and the Birmingham-Hoover metro where a partner, officer, director, or manager has placed personal gain ahead of the company they were bound to serve.
Our Representation
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Representation in Alabama, Georgia & South Carolina
Owners, officers, directors, partners, and managers owe duties of loyalty and care to the company and to its other owners. When a fiduciary diverts a corporate opportunity, competes without disclosure, takes improper compensation, withholds information, or directs business to an entity they control, the loss to the company is measurable and the damage to the relationship generally is not. We investigate and prosecute breach of fiduciary duty claims on behalf of companies and minority owners, which means tracing the money and securing the records before pursuing the available remedies: disgorgement of improper gains, compensatory damages, removal, and in serious cases punitive damages. We also defend executives and managers against claims that overstate the duty, since the same doctrine that protects a company can be invoked as a tactic in a dispute over control.
Closely held businesses run on trust between a small number of owners, which is exactly why fiduciary breaches are so damaging when they occur. Diverted opportunities, secret side ventures, and self-interested transactions frequently surface alongside partnership and shareholder disputes, and Alabama law gives both the company and individual owners standing to act.
Our Clients
Who We Represent
Companies harmed by officer or director misconduct
Minority shareholders and LLC members
Business partners frozen out or deceived
Boards investigating insider self-dealing
Executives and managers defending against claims
Trustees and beneficiaries in business holdings
Common Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Diversion of corporate or business opportunities
Self-dealing and undisclosed conflicts of interest
Undisclosed competing ventures and diversion of customers
Improper compensation, distributions, or expense charges
Concealment of financial information from co-owners
Misuse of company assets, funds, or confidential information
What We Pursue for You
Disgorgement of profits the fiduciary improperly gained
Compensatory damages for losses to the business
Recovery of diverted opportunities and assets
Removal of the breaching fiduciary where warranted
Punitive damages in cases of fraud or bad faith
Attorneys' fees and costs where available
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions: Breach of Fiduciary Duty
What exactly is a fiduciary duty in a business?
It is a legal obligation of loyalty and care owed by people in positions of trust - officers, directors, partners, and LLC managers - to the company and its owners. In practice it means they must put the business's interests ahead of their own and cannot secretly profit at its expense.
Can I bring a claim as a minority owner, or only the company?
Often both. Some harms belong to the company and are pursued through a derivative action, while others - like oppression of a minority owner - support a direct claim. We evaluate which path, or combination, gives you the strongest position under Alabama law.
What can we actually recover for a breach?
Remedies go beyond ordinary damages. Courts can order the fiduciary to give up profits they improperly earned (disgorgement), return diverted opportunities, pay compensatory and sometimes punitive damages, and in serious cases be removed from their role.
We suspect self-dealing but do not have proof yet - what do we do?
Preserve records first, and where inspection rights exist, make a written demand for access to the books. Acting before the suspicion becomes known reduces the risk that documents are lost and establishes the record needed to obtain financial discovery later.
Further Reading
Free Guides on Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Related Practice Areas
Commercial Litigation
Some commercial disputes are resolved in negotiation. Others are tried. We represent businesses across Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina in commercial litigation from pre-suit demand through verdict and appeal.
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Non-Competes & Trade Secrets
When departing employees take your clients, your confidential information, or your proprietary processes, we act quickly to seek court orders stopping the misuse and to recover damages under state and federal law.
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Partnership & Shareholder Disputes
An ownership dispute can halt decision-making at a company that is otherwise sound. We represent shareholders, LLC members, and partners in disputes over control, distributions, and breach of fiduciary duty.
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