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Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
When co-owners fall out, the business itself is at risk. These cases are won in the governing documents and the books, and they reward the side that moves first.
The Approach
The freeze-out has a playbook. So does the response.
Minority owners get squeezed the same ways everywhere: the salary stops, the information stops, distributions dry up while the majority pays itself, and then comes the lowball buyout offer. Georgia law gives minority owners real weapons, but most of them depend on acting early: statutory books-and-records demands, preservation letters, and claims for breach of fiduciary duty before the trail goes cold.
The firm’s edge in these cases is structural. Our corporate practice drafts operating agreements, buy-sell provisions, and shareholder agreements for a living, which means our litigation side reads them the way the drafter did, and finds the leverage in clauses other lawyers skim.
Exit paths vary: a negotiated buyout at a defensible valuation, a derivative claim on behalf of the company, or dissolution used as leverage rather than destination. We will tell you which one your documents actually support before you spend money pursuing the wrong one.
What we handle
Owner and partner disputes we handle.
- Minority freeze-outsSqueeze-outs, information blackouts, and distributions that stopped arriving.
- LLC member disputesOperating agreement fights over control, capital, and exits.
- Derivative claimsClaims brought on behalf of the company against those running it.
- Buy-sell enforcementTriggering events, valuation fights, and appraisal disputes.
- Business divorceUnwinding a co-owned company with the value intact.
- Deadlock & dissolution50/50 standoffs, and the statutory levers that break them.
Questions
Before you call.
What rights do I have as a minority owner?
More than the majority usually wants you to know: inspection rights, fiduciary duty protections, and whatever your operating or shareholder agreement adds or waives. The documents control, which is why we read them first.
Can I force a buyout?
Sometimes, through a buy-sell trigger, a negotiated exit backed by litigation leverage, or statutory remedies. The honest answer depends on your documents and the conduct involved, and we will give it to you before you file anything.
What if I signed the operating agreement without reading it?
You are likely bound by it, but agreements have gaps, and fiduciary duties fill some of them. Bring it with you; the first consultation is largely a document review.
Contact
Put a trial lawyer on your dispute
Tell us what is happening inside the company and what the governing documents say. We will tell you what your position actually supports.
Canton Office
101 Woodland Way, Suite 1C
Canton, GA 30114
Phone: (770) 693-8715
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Florida office, by appointment:
1831 NW 33rd Street
Oakland Park, FL 33309
Request a consultation
Confidential. No obligation. We respond during business hours, usually the same day.
Criminal and civil matters go directly to Mitch Skandalakis. Prefer the phone? Call (770) 693-8715.