Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Fraud, and Business Torts

While our free market system encourages competition, some business activities go too far and crosses the line into tortious conduct. The Law Offices of Craig Hubble has extensive experience litigating breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and other business tort claims, including tortious interference, conversion and trade libel/business disparagement.

Breach of fiduciary duty claims commonly involve allegations that a partner or corporate officer or director has breached its/his/her duty of reasonable care, duty of loyalty and/or duty of confidentiality. Allegations of wrongful conduct may include the charges that the fiduciary has dissipated and/or misused corporate assets, has enriched itself/himself/herself at the expense of the corporation and its shareholders or has refused to allow a shareholder access to corporate books and records.

Fraud claims involve situations in which a party allegedly has made material misrepresentations of fact that have resulted in injury to the claimant. Because fraud claims must be pled with specificity under California law, the complaint must allege facts showing how, when, where, to whom, and by what means the misrepresentations were made. Where a fraud claim is asserted against a corporation, the complaint must allege not only the names of the individual(s) who made the misrepresentations, but also his/her authority to speak for the corporation.

Tortious interference typically occurs when a person/entity improperly forces or induces someone either to break a contract with a third party or to terminate an existing or prospective business relationship. To establish a claim, the plaintiff must show, among other things, the existence of a valid contract or business relationship, the defendant’s knowledge of such contract or relationship and intentional acts by the defendant to induce a breach of the contract or disrupt the business relationship.

Conversion involves the wrongful exercise of control over the property of another. It is not necessary that there be a manual “taking” of the property in question, and the claimant is not required to prove any wrongful intent. Money generally cannot form the basis of a conversion claim unless a specific, identifiable sum is involved, such as where an agent is required to turn over to his/her/its principal a definite sum received on the principal’s behalf.
Trade libel and business disparagement involve the publication of false statements disparaging the quality of a business’ services or products that induce others not to deal with the business. To be actionable, the statement(s) must be false, and mere opinions will not support a cause of action for trade libel or business disparagement. Additionally, to establish a claim of trade libel, a plaintiff must identify specific customers or transactions of which it was deprived because of the false statement(s).

Whether you are the victim of a breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent misrepresentation or other business tort or the target of such a lawsuit alleging such claim, it is imperative that you promptly retain experienced counsel to represent and protect your interests. The Law Offices of Craig Hubble has the knowledge and skill necessary to evaluate the parties’ conduct and to advise you as to your rights, potential remedies and/or potential defenses.

The Law Offices of Craig Hubble employs a hands-on, dedicated approach to every matter, and we believe that it is vital that you get the personal attention and tireless, high quality representation that you genuinely deserve. We are committed to protecting your rights and obtaining the best results for you, and we find that this is best accomplished by constantly evaluating the risks and benefits involved, maintaining open lines of communication with you and tailoring a custom approach to resolve your dispute. By understanding your business objectives and keeping you constantly updated, we enable you to make informed business decisions as to all aspects of the litigation.

Although based in the Los Angeles area, we have extensive experience litigating breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and other business tort claims in state and federal courts throughout California, and we are uniquely positioned to offer custom-designed fee arrangements to help you achieve your business goals. We provide plaintiff and defense representation, with the capability to handle the most complex business tort claims.

Whether the wrongful conduct of another has harmed your business or you are the target of such a claim, contact us today for a free consultation as to your rights, remedies and/or defenses.