What are the best strategies to resolve a shareholder dispute in California? Are you concerned about protecting your investment in a San Diego or California corporate entity? What rights should you have as a shareholder and how can you gain access to the information needed to protect and grow your investment?
Key Takeaways About How to Resolve a Shareholder Dispute in California:
- Shareholder disputes can be costly to investors and businesses alike, both in terms of lost opportunity as well as the time and expense of resolving the disputes.
- While poor business performance can result in a shareholder dispute, many business lawsuits and internal disputes erupt over money and profit distribution, especially when times are good and the business is thriving.
- Watkins Firm is able to resolve the majority of our shareholder dispute cases in California through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and most cost-effective way to resolve your business dispute.
Shareholder Disputes
Shareholder disputes can be costly to investors and businesses alike, both in terms of lost opportunity as well as the time and expense of resolving the disputes. Many potential business disputes between shareholders, investors or owners can be avoided through well crafted corporate documents. The “operating agreement” in an LLC, and the “shareholder’s agreement” in a corporation should anticipate most or all of the potential conflicts that can arise downstream to prevent costly disputes among the owners.
Many business professionals think the cost and time to resolve a shareholder dispute in San Diego and Southern California is prohibitive. This is simply not the case. Shareholders have rights. California and federal commercial laws protect your rights and provide specific (and in some cases, immediate) relief. It doesn’t cost anything to have a substantive consultation with one of our experienced shareholder dispute resolution attorneys at the Watkins firm. We can help you to gain insight into whatever challenge you face and work with you to develop and implement a customized strategy for your unique circumstances.
The Principle Issue in Most Shareholder Disputes is Money
One might think a shareholder dispute is often due to poor business performance. While poor business performance can result in a shareholder dispute, many business lawsuits and internal disputes erupt over money and profit distribution, especially when times are good and the business is thriving.
Issues of control, performance of expected duties, company strategy, employee management and profit distribution often result in shareholder disputes. The key is to resolve a shareholder dispute in San Diego and Southern California early on, so that the underlying relationships and business profitability are preserved and the focus of the owners can be directed toward running the business, not distracting side issues.
Resolve a Shareholder Dispute in San Diego and Southern California in a Cost-Effective and Timely Manner
The attorneys at the Watkins Firm have decades of experience helping business clients, owners and investors to resolve shareholder disputes in a cost-effective and timely manner. We know shareholder disputes in San Diego are costly and distract you from the primary task of profitably managing your business. This is why we take a unique approach which is specifically designed to resolve a shareholder dispute in San Diego and Southern California efficiently.
It may surprise you to learn that the Watkins Firm is able to resolve the majority of shareholder dispute cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and most cost-effective way to resolve your business dispute. We also represent clients in the filing or defense of lawsuits, settlement conferences, mediation, arbitration and at trial.
Pro-Tip: “We’ve had so many investor or shareholder fights where a company takes a group of friends, or a group of friends who know friends, maybe 30 people to invest in a company and it’ll be doing well, but not great. And the investors, the shareholders won’t be receiving disclosures, or they will be receiving them, but they sort of don’t add up. And then they do an investigation and they come to some law firm like ours and they say, ‘well, let’s, let’s get in there seeing the books and records’ and you get some pushback from the company. And that’s when all the hairs in your neck stand up and you come to the Watkins firm and we file a motion.
And we discover through our due diligence that the company’s doing very good and that they also formed an offshore corporation of the same name. And they’ve taken all the assets and they’re all driving Rolls-Royces. So this has happened more times than I can say, because it just does happen. Nobody fights over anything unless there’s money involved. If it’s just doing okay, they would tell the truth and say, ‘it’s all great.’ But if that big money offer comes in the door and they have a way of, of keeping it for themselves, it’s very tempting for human nature to turn that down.
Obviously not all shareholders need legal advice, but many of them do. When should a potential shareholder seek the advice of the Watkins Firm?
Well, if you’re investing $500, no, but if you’re making a substantial investment in a company, you are a buyer of that company. So all the same thought process that we go through when we acquire a company or we sell a company and we do our due diligence should come into play. And law firms have resources that average people don’t. We have computer databases, we can do background searches, we can pull up, or request disclosures. We can actually help you ask certain questions of the corporation. We can literally even hire our CPA to review the financial documents to make sure it adds up.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
We invite you to review our podcast, Episode 14 – Shareholders’ Rights and Disputes, as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today. We will discuss the issues at hand and your goals for the situation and provide options to accomplish those goals and resolve the underlying shareholder dispute in the shortest possible time frame and in a cost-effective manner.
Meet Daniel Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares deeply about what others are going through. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He contributes his insights candidly and constructively.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a trusted litigation strategist and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
