Are you searching for an experienced, proven attorney for San Diego investor dispute resolution? Are you a concerned shareholder or investor who is having issues with majority interests and accessing the information needed to protect your position? What is the best strategy for investor dispute resolution in California? How can you protect your interests and resolve a dispute as an investor in a California business or company without disrupting the ongoing operations of the company itself?
Key Takeaways About San Diego Investor Dispute Resolution in California:
- If you’ve made an investment in a San Diego or California LLC, S Corporation, C Corporation, MSO, or other business it is important to consistently monitor and protect your interests.
- Unfortunately many majority stakeholders are tempted to attempt to reduce the value of your position, not make full or proper distributions, or breach their fiduciary duty to you as an investor.
- The Watkins Firm has 40+ years of experience asserting and protecting the interests of investors and shareholders here in San Diego and across the State of California.
Are You In a Dispute with the Company or It’s Owners?
Are you in a dispute with the company or it’s owners? Has the business failed to fulfill financial commitments? Are majority stakeholders attempting to water-down the value of your position or scheming to take an action such as a potential merger which threatens the viability of your investment? If you are concerned about the status of your investment and/or unfair business practices you need the experienced business attorneys at the Watkins Firm.
When investors in an LLC, corporation or Management Service Organization (MSO) become involved in a dispute it can threaten their financial position as well as the continuity of the underlying business. The key is to take prompt action to preserve your rights and protect your investment.
More than Four Decades of Investor Dispute Resolution in San Diego and Southern California
The experienced dispute resolution attorneys at the Watkins Firm have more than four decades of experience of investor dispute resolution in San Diego and throughout the State of California. Our unique approach to solving disputes puts the client’s needs first and foremost. This approach is designed to take prudent, effective action to resolve disputes in the shortest possible time frame and in a cost-effective manner.
It is important to note that the Watkins Firm is able to resolve most disputes are through effective and leveraged negotiation. This is the fastest and most efficient path to protecting your rights and interests. Our attorneys gain the insight and the financial leverage that arises out of the chronology of events and associated damages to gain the attention of other parties and invite them to a productive negotiation. When necessary, we are prepared to file or defend a lawsuit, and represent our clients in settlement conferences, business mediation, arbitration, and at trial.
Pro-Tip: “we’ve, we’ve had so many shareholder fights where, a company group of friends or a group of friends who know friends, maybe 30 people 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 an experienced 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 well, 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 keeping it for themselves, it’s very tempting for human nature to turn that down.
We’re talking about breach of the shareholder agreement and most importantly, lack of access. What can we do as an attorney to help protect our clients contract in their shareholders agreement and their access to information? Well, we like to say, if it’s off a penny, it’s off a million. So we look at the financial disclosures you’ve given, and if they don’t add up or doesn’t seem straightforward, we suggest you demand for documentation. And if they don’t give it, that’s sort of like them pleading the fifth, you know, something’s wrong when they’re not willing to give their investors, their owners full access, full transparency into what’s going on with the company.
So that sense that you have that something’s just not right. That should also be a sense that maybe I should get some help. And you should do it right away. because, when shareholder fraud or a shareholder breach happens, it’s almost always for a purpose. There is an immediate opportunity for management, and its usually about to go down, and it’s probably going to involve a lot of money. They usually won’t do it unless it’s worth something.
This is about money and timing . If let’s say you don’t have a shareholder agreement, or you have a weak shareholder agreement and management has broad discretion to do a lot of things, and they’re getting ready to do some questionable things, to make a big profit. And you come along and say, wait a minute, I think something’s wrong here. And you pose an objection. Well, before you file a lawsuit, this opportunity that management has is still there. So if you are the squeaky wheel right away, before they go forward with whatever they’re doing, then you may profit from that. But if you’re not, then it’ll just happen. And instead of sharing in the profits, you’ll be fighting to claim you had rights to get some money back.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Prompt, Effective Action Achieves Positive Results
It is important to get to the core of the issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. Our attorneys understand the time-sensitive nature of these relationships and investments. If the matter cannot be resolved through negotiations alone mediation is an excellent option to consider. In a mediation a neutral third party hears the perspectives of both sides, and recommends potential solutions based upon expensive business and legal experience and expertise.
Your attorney from the Watkins Firm represents you through every legal venue and step in the process ensuring that your business and financial interests are protected. If you are searching for an attorney with decades of proven, successful experience with investor dispute resolution in San Diego and Southern California 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. Learn what we can do to help protect your investment and resolve the dispute quickly and cost-effectively.
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.
