When the Fight Is With Your Own Business Partner
Partnership and shareholder litigation resolves disputes between the ownersof a business—breach of fiduciary duty, freeze-outs, business divorce, and forced buyouts. As an Orlando, Florida partnership and shareholder dispute attorney, Keough Law protects your stake when the people you built the company with turn against you.
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An owner dispute puts everything at risk
Disputes between owners are the most personal—and most dangerous—fights a business faces. The other side knows the company's finances, its customers, and its weak points, and they're often making decisions from the inside while the conflict plays out. Left unchecked, that access lets a bad-faith partner drain value or lock you out entirely.
Whether you're a majority owner protecting the company or a minority owner being pushed out, moving early from a position of strength is what preserves your leverage—and your share of what you built.
- Breach of fiduciary duty
- Minority shareholder oppression
- Freeze-outs & lockouts
- Business divorce & buyouts
- Derivative claims for the company
- Owner deadlock & dissolution
Majority or minority, we protect your stake
These fights look different depending on who holds control. Majority owners need to act decisively without stepping into liability; minority owners need to force fair treatment despite being outvoted. We've handled both.
That perspective lets us anticipate the other side's next move—and position your case for the buyout, settlement, or judgment that fits your goal.
Force fair treatment
- Enforce information & inspection rights
- Challenge freeze-outs & oppression
- Pursue a fair-value buyout
- Seek dissolution as leverage
Act without liability
- Defend fiduciary-duty claims
- Buy out a disruptive owner
- Break deadlock & restore control
- Protect the company from harm
A steady hand in a personal fight
Keough Law represents business owners on both sides of partnership and shareholder disputes—minority owners forcing fair treatment and majority owners protecting the company. Every matter gets direct, prepared advocacy aimed at the outcome that actually serves your stake in the business.
“My partner tried to freeze me out of the company we built together. Shaun protected my stake and got me a fair buyout without a drawn-out war.”
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Partnership Dispute
The owner disputes we take on
Whatever the ownership structure, the questions are the same: who breached their duties, what is your interest worth, and how do you get out—or take control—on fair terms. Here's where we focus.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Holding a partner, officer, or majority owner accountable for self-dealing, diverting money, or putting themselves ahead of the company.
Shareholder Oppression & Freeze-Outs
Protecting minority owners who are cut out of decisions, denied information, or squeezed out of the profits they’re owed.
Business Divorce & Buyouts
Separating owners on the best terms possible—negotiated buyouts, valuation fights, and forced dissolution when needed.
Derivative & Deadlock Claims
Suing on behalf of the company for harm done to it, and breaking 50/50 deadlocks that have the business frozen.
Clear fees, scoped to your goal
Owner disputes are billed hourly, but we scope the work to your objective— whether that's a negotiated buyout, a governance fix, or full-blown litigation. Many matters open with a focused assessment and a demand that can reset the dynamic before a lawsuit is filed.
We'll give you an honest read on leverage, value, and the likely path during your free consultation.
A boutique litigator who fights
You work directly with Shaun Keough—not a rotating cast of associates. Owner disputes are part of our broader business litigation practice, and because we also handle business dissolution, we see the whole board—not just the lawsuit.
Partnership & shareholder questions
What counts as a partnership or shareholder dispute?
Any serious conflict between the owners of a business—partners in a partnership, members of an LLC, or shareholders in a corporation. Common examples include one owner diverting money or opportunities, a majority freezing out a minority, disagreements over control or compensation, and fights over how (or whether) to split up. If ownership itself is in conflict, it belongs here.
What is breach of fiduciary duty?
Partners, managing members, officers, and controlling shareholders owe duties of loyalty and care to the company and, often, to each other. Breaching those duties—by self-dealing, taking company opportunities, hiding information, or acting in bad faith—can create personal liability. These claims are powerful because they reach conduct an ordinary contract can’t.
I’m a minority owner being pushed out. What can I do?
You have more leverage than you may think. Minority owners have rights to information, to fair treatment, and to remedies when the majority abuses control—up to and including a court-ordered buyout or dissolution in the right cases. The key is documenting the oppression early and asserting your rights before you’re fully frozen out.
Do we have to dissolve the business to resolve this?
Usually not. Dissolution is the last resort, and most owner disputes resolve another way—a negotiated buyout, a governance fix, or a settlement that lets one side exit with fair value. We push for the outcome that protects your stake and, where it makes sense, keeps a viable business intact. Dissolution stays on the table as leverage when the other side won’t deal.
How is the value of a buyout determined?
It depends on your operating or shareholder agreement and, absent that, on Florida law and valuation evidence. Buyout fights often turn on the valuation method, the date of valuation, and whether discounts apply—which is why they can swing by large amounts. We work with valuation experts and structure the case to support the number that’s fair to you.
Ready to protect
what you've built?
Schedule a free, confidential consultation. We'll talk through your situation and figure out the right next step together.