Shareholder Business Disputes

Shareholder and business disputes happen. Unfortunately, that is the nature of business and a fact of life that will never change. No matter what precautions are taken, shareholder disputes are an inevitable part of business. The most common causes of disputes include disagreements about the company’s strategy, the level of dividends, salary levels, financial contributions, and shareholder prices, to name a few. When important decisions need to be made, there can be a deadlock in votes if shareholders and business partners don’t see eye to eye.

Obviously, it is always in a company’s best interest to resolve shareholder disputes as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Problems that arise from disputes do not just have legal repercussions; they bear down on a company’s reputation, waste time and take up valuable resources. In situations like these, it is important to get advice from experts. The lawyers at ESQ.title can provide reasoned guidance that is cost effective and suits your business needs.

The ESQ.title law firm is comprised of business attorneys who are highly experienced in advising clients in the Broward, Miami, and Palm Beach areas on the most effective ways to resolve shareholder disputes. Its business lawyers have dealt with numerous situations where the dispute stemmed from items that were not addressed in by-laws, agreements, and basic organizational instruments.

An effective, custom tailored shareholder agreement is an essential tool that every business should have to help protect it from unnecessary shareholder disputes. Each shareholder agreement should cover details about the financing of the company, dividends, fees, salaries, shareholder responsibilities, and specific actions for future situations.

ESQ.title provides ongoing proactive counsel as a preventive measure for periodic business issues in an effort to resolve business issues at their inception. Early intervention is the best way to protect a business from a full range of problems later on. The law firm takes pride in having helped many companies build the foundation for good corporate governance through detailed shareholder, partnership or operating agreements, and smart business advisement.

In shareholder disputes, litigation is costly and the final recourse. As such, the firm looks at all options towards a resolution of a dispute before taking the issue to court. The business lawyers at ESQ.title understand that litigation is not only costly, but time-consuming for the company. Accordingly, the law firms approach to each situation keeps its client’s best interests in mind by exploring all cost effective options before filing a lawsuit. However, the law firm is also ready, willing and experienced at litigating shareholder disputes should the situation call for court involvement.

In the past years, ESQ.title has brought its expertise to the following types of cases involving business disputes:

• Breach of contract or breach of fiduciary duty
• Contract disputes
• Officer or director misconduct
• Disputes among minority shareholders and majority shareholders
• Misunderstandings rooted in financial disputes, compensation disputes, dividend disputes, return on investment disputes
• Disputes about buy/sell agreements
• Shareholder, partnership, or LLC member disputes
• Force-out disputes
• Merger and acquisition disputes
• Dissolution disputes
• Misappropriation or theft of physical assets
• Breach of fiduciary duty
• Fraudulent transactions
• Diversion of income

No matter is too big or too small to deserve legal opinion. Contact ESQ.title today for a free assessment of your situation.