Orange County Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Attorneys

Fiduciary duty is the highest standard of legal duty one person or party can have to another. A fiduciary acts as your agent, and you put immense trust into their service hoping they’ll act according to your wishes in all areas. But, fiduciaries can fail at their duty, and when that happens, we can help you recover from that.

At Buffington Law Firm, PC, we are trial lawyers with a singular focus on litigation. We go to court to pursue what our clients in Orange County need to make them whole again after a fiduciary breach. Our experience and reputation in the courtroom makes our work in the negotiation room a lot easier. You can rely on us to help you take the next step in fighting fiduciary missteps.

The Elements Of A Fiduciary Breach Lawsuit

To succeed at a fiduciary breach action, as your lawyers we will have to prove several important factors to the court. Our work will be entirely focused on confirming and proving the relevant facts of your case, and they will have to include:

• Was there a fiduciary relationship? Not every person you put your trust in has a fiduciary responsibility; however, certain financial professionals, attorneys and other groups absolutely do have that responsibility. The first part of a defense is trying to undermine that fiduciary designation.
• Was the action a breach? There is a somewhat murky difference between what is a breach and what is a difference of opinion. A person can only be in breach of their duty if they did not act in your best intentions. A failed result is not a breach unless the other party failed at some part of their duties, such as due diligence or outright fraud.
• What were the damages? You cannot pursue any legal action if there is no appreciable instance of damage. In a fiduciary relationship, this would mean a loss of money or opportunity due to the fiduciaries actions. If there was no such loss, pursuing action will be much more challenging.

Roger Buffington, one of our lead attorneys, has considerable experience in fiduciary litigation and also has a background as a CPA. He is skilled at reviewing the global state of a person’s financial outlook and tracking down minute factors that may indicate a breach or serve as compelling evidence.

Common Services With Fiduciary Duty

Most of the time, if a professional has a fiduciary duty to you, you would have some form of paperwork to back that up. However, we’ve seen many clients unsure of whether that relationship was in place. Professionals that typically have a fiduciary duty to their clients include:

• Corporate officers
• Investment advisors
• Business partners
• Accountants
• Trustees of living trusts
• Homeowner’s associations

If anyone with a fiduciary duty has breached that duty to you, then you must act and you cannot waste time thinking about it. California only allows lawsuits within four years of the initial breach.

A Track Record For Success

Our firm has been in the trenches fighting for clients who have lost a lot to breaches of duty. We’ve helped them recover damages, and often in these cases, attorney fees and punitive damages are a major component of the verdicts.

When your trust has suffered such a violation as a fiduciary breach, we will be on your side to help you recover. Call us at 714-450-6568 or send an email using this /contact/form.