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Effectively Protecting Your Business from Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States. However, business owners need to be aware that consumers are not the only victims of identity theft efforts. Thieves target small businesses and large corporations to steal information for identity theft. A Willcox lawyer can help you protect your business from identity theft and respond to litigation regarding breaches and failure to protect client and customer information. Ways to protect a business from identity theft include:

Policies for Collecting Personal Information

Review your policies for asking clients or customers for their personal information. Limit the personal information you gather. If you do not need birth dates, Social Security numbers, and other information, don’t ask for it. Instruct employees on the proper procedures for gathering personal information, such as never doing so when others can hear and turning computer screens so they cannot be viewed by anyone else.

Protect the Personal Information You Gather

There are several steps necessary to secure the personal information a business collects. Restrict access to personal information. Only employees who need the information should have access. Vendors and customers should be limited from accessing areas that contain the personal information of customers, clients, and employees. 

Secure personal information on computers and in the office. Computers should have the most advanced and current software to prevent hacks and data breaches, including spyware, firewalls, encryption software, and anti-virus software. Limit employees’ ability to access websites that are unrelated to your business. Also, restrict or prohibit an employee’s ability to download documents, images, or other data from the internet. Require multi-factor authentication to access computers and laptops. 

Keep file cabinets and other physical storage methods locked. Limit access to documents containing personal information and the areas where the documents are stored.

Do not email or mail documents containing personal information to clients or customers. If you must include personal information, only include enough information for the client or customer to identify their personal information (i.e., the last four digits of a Social Security number).

Address when and how to provide personal information to third parties. Require that all third parties who receive personal information comply with privacy laws. Ask for background checks for third-party vendors who enter your company routinely. 

Destroy Personal Information When No Longer Needed

Destroy documents and computer files containing personal information when it is no longer needed or required to be stored. Old documents should be destroyed using a cross-cut paper shredder as a minimum. Destroy old backups and computer disks. Before disposing of a computer or hard drives, wipe them clean with special software or magnetic cleaning, even if you will physically destroy the drives and device. 

Develop a Data Breach Response Plan

Talk with our South Carolina business attorneys to ensure you understand your obligations and legal responsibility for protecting personal information. Additionally, ensure you understand the legal requirements for a data breach response plan. Your plan must comply with the law and offer your clients and customers as much protection and transparency as possible. 

Learn More During a Free Consultation With Our South Carolina Business Attorneys 

We are committed to helping you protect the business you built. Contact our law firm to schedule a free consultation with one of our South Carolina business attorneys. We offer a wide range of legal services for business owners.

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Why You Need a Non-Disclosure Agreement

This blog will discuss why you need a non-disclosure agreement if you have a business. A South Carolina business contracts attorney can talk to you and draft a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) tailored to your specific needs. You do not want to use a generic form for this important document.

What a Non-Disclosure Agreement Does

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) identifies what information needs to get protected by the document and what is not confidential. You might be surprised at the assumptions your employees or others might think are not confidential. 

If you clearly identify what information these individuals can use or share, as well as what the NDA protects and prohibits from disclosure, they cannot claim that they did not know. People tend to work better with well-defined boundaries rather than uncertainty.

When a person signs an NDA and later violates it, they are guilty of a breach of contract. The NDA can specify the legal consequences of such actions. 

Situations When an NDA Could Protect the Employer/Business Owner

Here are some of the common situations in which you might want to have someone sign an NDA:

  • When you hire a new employee, you will want to make sure they understand that your proprietary information is not for them to sell to your competitors and use for their own purposes. Many companies have developed valuable ways of working that are proprietary. You might have software custom-made for your business. Customer lists and details are confidential. Third parties could make improper use of this data, so you will want to protect it with an NDA.
  • When employees leave their employment with you, it can be beneficial for them to sign an NDA. Also, when your company develops new information or processes, an updated NDA could be useful to protect the company.
  • When you bring on new investors or partners, they will get access to some confidential or proprietary information. Although they might have a legal right to access this data, you will want to nail down what they cannot share with others or use for their own purposes. 
  • Many products involve financial, technical, or other confidential or proprietary information that should get protected before the technology or product gets sold or licensed to the intended user. An NDA can ensure that the user understands the allowed use of that information as well as which uses are prohibited. 
  • Selling a company or merging with or acquiring another business involves dealing with multiple third parties. Each of these parties, like agents, brokers, and financial entities, should sign an NDA to protect your company from the unauthorized appropriation of your company’s proprietary or confidential information.
  • Even bringing on new clients can subject your company to the risk of misappropriation of your confidential or proprietary information by those clients. Some companies hire “secret shoppers” to pose as clients of their competitors to try to gain access to such valuable information.

This is not an exhaustive list of every circumstance in which you might benefit from the protection of an NDA. You will want to talk with a South Carolina business attorney about your company’s unique risks and develop a strategy to protect the fruits of your hard work with a non-disclosure agreement. Contact our office today for help with your case.

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What to Do if Your Business Has Been Defrauded

When we hear about business fraud, we assume that the business was guilty of committing fraud on a consumer. However, businesses are also victims of fraud. Business fraud costs companies billions of dollars in losses each year. 

If your business is the victim of fraud or misrepresentation, it is crucial that you take immediate steps to stop the fraud and pursue legal remedies for compensation of damages. Our South Carolina business attorneys can help you pursue claims to hold the responsible parties accountable for their fraudulent acts.

How Do You Prove Business Fraud in South Carolina?

Business fraud includes false representations of a material. The misrepresentation can be intentional or negligent. Business fraud occurs when:

  • A party knows that a fact is untrue or fails to use reasonable care to determine if the fact is true or untrue;
  • The party misrepresents the fact to a second party as being true; 
  • The misrepresentation is material or relevant to the transaction or contract; 
  • The misrepresentation is made to induce the second party into action or inaction; and,
  • The second party relies on the false statement and suffers harm because of that trust. 

For example, a company falsifies documents and financial records to convince another company to enter a partnership or merger. Another example might be that a seller represents their ability to perform contractual obligations or hides a problem with a product. 

A company could be defrauded when employees falsify expense reports to obtain reimbursement checks or skim money from customer payments to the company. Civil fraud could occur when a party intentionally withholds relevant information to get a company to enter into a contract or perform services. 

Examples of Ways Companies are Defrauded in South Carolina 

Fraud can occur in many ways. Examples of business fraud include, but are not limited to:

  • Insurance fraud
  • Mail fraud
  • Bank fraud
  • Wire fraud
  • Fraudulent conveyance
  • Employment-related fraud
  • Securities fraud
  • Embezzlement
  • General fraud

Regardless of the type of fraud, the result can devastate a company. The company could sustain a significant financial loss because of the fraud. Furthermore, the company might suffer from harm to its reputation if customers or investors become aware the company was defrauded.

If Your Business Was Defrauded, You Could Pursue Litigation Through the Courts 

A business lawyer can help you seek compensation for damages caused by business fraud by filing a civil lawsuit. Depending on the circumstances, you could receive compensation for the actual monetary losses caused by the fraud, reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs, and other damages. A judge could order the other party to pay punitive damages as a way to punish the party who committed fraud. 

Contact Our South Carolina Business Attorneys for a Free Consultation 

Our experienced business lawyers at Willcox, Buyck & Williams, PA, can help you take steps to protect your business now and in the future. If you experience legal problems, we are here to fight to protect you and your company from liability. Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation with a seasoned South Carolina business attorney.

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Key Elements of a Shareholder Agreement

Whether you are starting or investing in a business, you need to ensure the shareholder agreement protects your rights and interests. Without a shareholder agreement, the parties could face time-consuming and costly disputes as the company grows. An experienced South Carolina business contracts attorney can ensure your shareholder agreement has the essential elements to reduce the risk of conflicts and confusion as you build your company.

What Is a Shareholder’s Agreement?

A shareholder is someone who owns an interest in a company, usually as a stockholder. A shareholder agreement or stockholders’ agreement defines the relationship between the shareholder and the company. A shareholder agreement is a written contract that describes or defines:

  • The rights and roles of a shareholder
  • How shares can be purchased and sold
  • The obligations of the shareholder to the company
  • How the company will be operated
  • What happens if a shareholder divorces, dies, becomes disabled, or files bankruptcy 
  • How the company makes important decisions 
  • The process for resolving disputes between shareholders 

Whenever more than one person invests money in a company, the company should have a shareholder agreement. Even if family members and friends own all shares, the company and the shareholders need an enforceable contract to protect themselves. 

What Are the Key Elements of a Shareholder Agreement in South Carolina?

A business lawyer drafts a shareholder agreement that addresses specific issues that the shareholders and the company might encounter. The agreement can address special circumstances for an individual business, but the agreement needs to include key clauses.

The key elements to include in a shareholder’s agreement are:

  • A preamble to identify the parties to the shareholder’s agreement
  • The number and type of shares the company is authorized to issue
  • A capitalization table defining the equity capitalization of the company 
  • The rights of shareholders to appoint and remove directors
  • The rights and obligations of directors and managers
  • The matters that require shareholder approval, including any matters that require unanimous consent
  • Voting and quorum requirements, including a deadlock clause
  • The rules for transferring, selling, or purchasing shares, including rights of first refusal and what occurs in the event of the death of a shareholder 
  • The procedure and requirements for holding meetings
  • Confidentiality and non-compete clauses 
  • The rights of minority shareholders 
  • How profits and losses are distributed among shareholders
  • The procedure for valuing each share of the company 
  • “Boilerplate” clauses defining the entire agreement and severability 
  • The process and requirements for amending or terminating the shareholder agreement 

The terms and conditions of a shareholder’s agreement ensure that the shareholders are treated fairly. The agreement also protects the business by defining how significant decisions are made and how the company will be operated. 

It is not wise to use a shareholder agreement template you find online. The templates may not have the language necessary to protect your rights and interests. Furthermore, shareholder templates might not comply with South Carolina laws governing corporations, partnerships, and associations. Consulting legal counsel is the best way to ensure your shareholder agreement has all the elements to protect all parties and comply with state laws. 

Contact Our South Carolina Business Attorney for More Information 

Our South Carolina business attorney helps you protect your business interests and investments. Contact us to schedule a consultation with our attorney to discuss all your business matters.

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Defending Your Company From Unfair Competition (Slander/False Accusations)

Your company might find itself the target of unfair competition from business rivals in the form of slander or defamation. These situations are tricky to handle because, particularly in the area of online defamation, it can be hard to prove the identity of who was behind the unethical or illegal conduct. Still, you might have legal options for getting the defamatory content removed and punishing the wrongdoer.

This blog will discuss how to defend your company from unfair competition in the form of slander and false accusations. You will want to work with a South Carolina business attorney if you find yourself in this situation.

How to Prove Defamation of Your Company

Business competitors often bad mouth their rivals, but defamation rises to another level. Defamation can harm the reputation of your company and cause you to lose money. You will have to prove these elements to win a defamation lawsuit:

  • The defendant said or wrote something that was spoken to another person or written in something that got “published.” The publication can be as simple as an online review or comment.
  • The defendant’s words were false.
  • The defendant’s words were not in a category that gets privileged treatment.
  • The defendant’s words caused harm to your company.

You will want to preserve the evidence of the slander or defamation to the best of your ability because the defendant will likely deny the conduct. In the case of online content, you will want to take screenshots and print hard copies of the statements. 

For spoken defamatory statements, you will want to write down as many details as you know, like the date of the statements, the content of what the defendant said, the people to whom the defendant spoke, and any other information you know.

Getting the Defamatory Content Removed

Websites and social media platforms usually allow people to file a request for removal of defamatory content. They might not take action as quickly as you would like, but they could take your request for removal more seriously if your lawyer requests the removal of the false content.

Punishing the Competitor Who Slandered or Defamed Your Company

The challenge of taking action to punish the competitor who is unfairly targeting your business is the relative ease of anonymity online. A competitor can set up a fake profile to use when posting negative reviews about your business. They can get friends or employees to post false content for them. There are even shady organizations that provide “bad reviews” services for hire.

If you can, however, unmask the competitor who has defamed your company, you might be able to sue them for defamation, slander, and unfair or deceptive business practices. Your potential recovery could include fines, actual damages for the economic harm to your company, mental distress, or punitive damages. 

You can talk with a South Carolina business attorney about handling your unfair competition case that involves slander or defamation of your company and the money damages and other legal options you might have in your situation. For help with your case reach out to our office today.

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Understanding an Anticipatory Breach of Contract

You have a contract, and the other party makes it clear that they cannot or will not perform their end of the bargain. You probably wonder what your rights are in this situation and whether you have to perform your obligations under the contract. The blog will help you in understanding an anticipatory breach of contract and what your remedies are when this happens.

Anticipatory breaches of contracts are tricky events. You will want to work with a South Carolina contracts attorney to make sure that your legal rights get protected and that you do not inadvertently make an expensive mistake.

The Definition of an Anticipatory Breach of Contract

Cornell Law School defines anticipatory breach as:

“In contract law, anticipatory breach occurs when a party repudiates prior to the 

date that the performance is due. Anticipatory breach is an excuse for non-performance

by the non-breaching party. A party can retract its anticipatory breach provided that the 

non-breaching party has not relied on it.”

In plain language, if the other side denies that a contract exists or refuses to perform their duties under the contract, they have repudiated the contract, which is a breach of contract. The other side does not have to perform its obligations under the contract unless the breaching party retracts its anticipatory breach before the non-breaching party relies on the repudiation.

Let’s say that you have a contract to buy $50,000 of computers from an office supply company. They notify you that, due to supply chain issues, they will not be able to deliver the computers you ordered from them. You do not have to pay them $50,000. 

You do, however, have to take reasonable measures to minimize, also called mitigate, your damages. Suppose that the contract was for catering services for a large, important event. The caterer you hired notified you three months before the event that they would not be able to provide the catering for the event because they were going out of business. You should make every reasonable effort to find a replacement catering company to minimize your damages.

Remedies for Anticipatory Breach of Contract

There are four possible types of damages available for a breach of contract, depending on the circumstances.

  • Compensatory damages. The purpose of compensatory damages is to pay the non-breaching party money for what they lost because of the breach. These losses are things like the increased amount they had to pay for replacement goods or services. Compensatory damages can get reduced if the judge feels that the non-breaching party did not try hard enough to mitigate their losses.
  • Nominal damages. These damages are for “the principle of the matter.” In other words, you might not have suffered great expense because of the breach, but you want a judge to say that what the breaching party did was wrong. 
  • Liquidated damages. Your contract might state a specific amount that either party will have to pay the other for breach of contract or delays. Often, liquidated damages get stated at a “per diem” rate, like $1,000 per day of delayed performance, up to a maximum total amount.
  • Punitive damages are rare in breach of contract cases because they usually require a showing of actual malice that greatly exceeds the conduct found in ordinary business transactions.

Whether you find yourself needing to back out of a contract or you are on the other side of an anticipatory breach of contract, you will want to talk to a South Carolina business attorney to navigate these complex situations. For help with your case contact our office today, we offer a free consultation.

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Navigating Corporate Governance: A Beginner’s Guide

Solid corporate governance is essential for publicly held corporations to build trust between the companies and their shareholders. Corporate governance policies need to put the priority on the interests of the shareholders. Corporate governance is not one-size-fits-all. Companies need to tailor their compliance in governance programs to their unique circumstances, while realizing that regulations evolve on a continuing basis. The board is at the heart of the corporate governance process. 

Privately held corporations can also benefit from strong governance practices, particularly if they anticipate future investors. Whether your corporation is publicly held or privately held, you would want to work with a South Carolina business organization attorney. This blog will present an overview of navigating corporate governance: a beginner’s guide. 

An Overview of Corporate Governance

Your company will need both management and a governing body to deal with the challenges presented by current market conditions and challenges. The members of your board should keep in mind these primary topics:

  • Strategic planning
  • Compensation of executives
  • Effectiveness and composition of the board
  • Challenges for leadership
  • Risk management 

Periodically refreshing the board with new members can provide a fresh outlook on these issues, increased diversity, different viewpoints, and a lower risk of members becoming entrenched and inefficient. You might want to consider having a formal policy that sets a mandatory tenure or retirement age for board members.

In addition to creating a successful and dynamic board, you will want to engage in succession planning for the leadership of the corporation. Business can continue without interruption if there is a written succession plan for the CEO and other key senior management roles. Profitability and shareholder volume can suffer without these goals being met.

How to Build an Effective and Balanced Board

When you have a board that operates effectively and has the necessary skill sets to explore current and future challenges, your company can grow and prosper. Your board has many jobs, including shaping and guiding the company strategy over the long term. You will want your board to evaluate the company’s strategy on a regular basis, through the lens of competitive threats, developments in the market, and world events.

Additionally, you will want to build a board that addresses these considerations:

  • Tenure of directors. It can be problematic for a director to serve independently on behalf of the corporation if they have a long tenure. There is value to having institutional knowledge, experience, and an understanding of the company’s culture and strategy. The board should try to balance these concepts against the problems they can encounter with excessively long director tenure.
  • Diversity of backgrounds, experience, and age. When you have a board composed of a wide range of candidates across these categories, the board is more likely to engage in lively debate and consider fresh options. It can be tempting for a board to act with one mind, and simply “rubberstamp” measures put in front of it. The more diverse the board members, the less likely groupthink is to occur.
  • Covering necessary skill sets. Depending on the type of industry, your corporate board should include members with specific skill sets, like engineering, accounting, law, and human resources. 

You can talk to a South Carolina business attorney about governance practices that could be valuable to your corporation. Reach out to our office today for help with your case.

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What is a Non-Disclosure Agreement and When Should a Business Use One?

There is a lot of misinformation about non-disclosure agreements, and that confusion can lead to business disputes. The short version is that a person who signed a non-disclosure agreement cannot talk about the information the agreement protects with anyone who is not authorized to discuss the topic. Of course, you need to know more than that about non-disclosure agreements. 

Let’s explore what a non-disclosure is and when a business should use one. A South Carolina business contracts attorney can answer your questions about these documents and draft the right kind of non-disclosure agreement for your company.

An Overview of Non-Disclosure Agreements

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) go by several names, for example, they can also bear the title of proprietary information agreements (PIAs), confidentiality agreements (CAs), and confidential disclosure agreements (CDAs). If drafted properly, NDAs are enforceable in court and can protect the information the company wants to keep secret.

Situations In Which Businesses Use NDAs

Companies require entities who are not employees of the business to sign confidentiality agreements to protect the company from the disclosure of private business information in these situations:

  • When a prospective buyer wants information about the business that the general public does not know, the company might require the potential purchaser to sign an NDA.
  • Vendors, suppliers, and prospective investors also might have to sign a confidentiality agreement before getting access to private information about the company.

Many companies routinely require employees to sign confidentiality agreements, particularly if their job duties require the workers to access private information like customer lists, client data, trade secrets, marketing plans, and other topics that could harm the business or benefit competitors if leaked.

Before the advent of non-disclosure agreements, a person could go work for a business, access their confidential information, and then set up a new business in competition with their former employer. NDAs prevent that outcome and provide legal remedies for the employer if a former worker misappropriates protected information.

The company can require new employees to sign confidentiality agreements as a condition of their employment. The company might have to offer existing employees some type of consideration to sign NDAs if they have not signed one for the company in the past.

Enforceability of Confidentiality Agreements

An NDA might not get enforced by the court if the judge determines that the company is using the document to restrict more than they need to or to take away legal remedies of the worker. Here are some examples of NDAs that might be unenforceable:

  • The agreement has an unreasonable duration, like restricting the employee from opening or working for a competing business using similar business processes for 20 years after leaving the company.
  • The geographic scope is too large, for example, banning the worker from engaging in similar work anywhere in the United States, even though the company’s clientele were only located in one city in South Carolina. 
  • Banning the employee from ever discussing anything they learned on the job, no matter how mundane, would be too broad or too restrictive. A department store does not need the same protections as a government intelligence agency, by way of example.
  • Prohibiting the worker from reporting the company for breaking the law or exercising their legal rights if the company engaged in illegal activity against the employee. A business cannot force workers to sign away their right to be free from illegal discrimination or other rights as a condition of employment.

There are many other reasons why an NDA might be unenforceable, which is why you will want to work with a South Carolina business attorney to tailor your non-disclosure agreements to your needs. Reach out to our office today for help with your case.

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Tips for Avoiding Litigation in Business

Getting embroiled in litigation can cause great damage to your company, both in terms of massive legal fees and negative repercussions to the reputation of your business. As Benjamin Franklin said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is best for your company to avoid getting sued or having to file suit.  

Here are some tips for avoiding litigation in business. You can talk with a South Carolina business attorney about how to implement these strategies in your company.

Be Proactive

Some business owners or managers think they do their job well if they respond to problems promptly. Actually, they would do their job better if they looked for potential problems and fixed them before they happened. This approach is similar to keeping your car well-maintained rather than waiting until you break down at the side of the road.

Listen to feedback and suggestions from your employees and customers. The compliments can be useful to analyze what your company is doing right so that you can try to replicate that behavior in other areas of your business. Complaints give you an opportunity to fix small problems before they develop into significant issues that could lead to litigation.

Return to the “Customer First” Model

In the past, many businesses operated under the principle of “the customer is always right.” Of course, the customer was not always right, but business owners would bend over backward to meet the expectations, however unreasonable, of the customer base. When the company made an honest mistake, it would go to great lengths to make it right.  

This approach avoided litigation and generated fantastic word-of-mouth benefits because the business got a reputation for treating its customers like gold. Going the extra mile might cost a little more initially, but the money it saves in preventing lawsuits and the money it makes for your company when it has an excellent reputation will be worth the expense. People do not tend to sue companies that treat them well.

Hire Carefully

If you make the mistake of hiring a difficult or litigious person to work for your company, it can be challenging to terminate the person’s employment without facing a lawsuit. You will want to perform a thorough background check before extending an offer of employment. You might not receive useful information from prior employers if they are concerned about getting sued by the job candidate. 

If you have legitimate concerns, think twice about hiring the individual. Always use a probationary period with new employees. Have the individual sign a document that gives you the right to terminate the employment during or at the end of the probationary period with or without cause. 

Use Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods

Mediation or arbitration can be useful ways of resolving disputes. These methods can be less expensive than full-blown litigation. Also, alternative dispute resolution can preserve the working relationship with the employee, vendor, or customer. 

Another option is to have a South Carolina business attorney negotiate a settlement of the claim against your company. You might be able to use any of these three methods to de-escalate the dispute and resolve the conflict amicably. Contact our office today for help with your case.

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Penalties for Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Breach of fiduciary duty is an increasingly common accusation raised among people in business when they have disputes with their partners, managers, and employees. Usually, the penalties for breach of fiduciary duty are financial, since violations of a fiduciary duty often cause economic losses.

If you suspect that someone has breached their fiduciary duty, you will want to talk to a South Carolina business attorney about your options. These situations are not one-size-fits-all. The appropriate remedy in one dispute might be quite different from the outcome in another.

An Overview of Fiduciary Duty

A person has a fiduciary duty when they have a responsibility to put the interests of another individual or business ahead of their own interests. For example, business partners have a duty to take actions that are in the interests of the partnership and their partners. If one partner acts in a way that benefits the partner at the expense of the other partners or the partnership, the partner has breached their fiduciary duty.

What Can Constitute Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Breaches of fiduciary duty typically vary based on the role of the violating party. In other words, partners tend to perform different actions than employees or members of the board of directors when they violate their fiduciary duties.

Here are a few examples of conduct that can constitute a breach of fiduciary duty:

Partners

A partner might take company funds or assets for their personal use. The partner might commit actual embezzlement or merely mismanage partnership accounts. Partners also need to disclose conflicts of interest and refrain from engaging in self-dealing like funneling contracts away from the partnership to their personal business entity. 

When a partner is negligent or takes illegal actions, the partner could breach the fiduciary duty to the partnership by damaging the company goodwill and exposing the partnership to liability. 

Board of Directors 

Members of the Board of Directors face some of the same opportunities for breaching their fiduciary duties as a business partner, like conflicts of interest and self-dealing. In addition, the board of directors might violate shareholder agreements about voting rights, payment of dividends, and access to records.

Employees and Agents

When someone acts on behalf of someone else as their agent or employee, they have a fiduciary duty not to use the relationship to harm the principal or employer. Common types of fiduciary breaches include theft, embezzlement, colluding with a competitor, filing fraudulent invoices or expense reports, or sharing the employer’s customer lists and trade secrets.

The Importance of the Partnership Agreement, Employment Contract, and Bylaws

The partnership agreement, employment contract, bylaws, or other applicable document might address the issue of what penalties are available in the event of a breach of fiduciary duty. You will need to look to these documents first when exploring your options against the person who violated their fiduciary duty. 

Taking Legal Action for Claims of Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Breach of fiduciary duty is typically a common law issue, meaning that there is an absence of specific criminal statutes that create a specific offense called breach of fiduciary duty. Instead, the person violating the fiduciary duty could face criminal charges or a civil lawsuit for fraud, embezzlement, theft, or other conduct. 

The criminal penalties would depend on the offense charged. Civil penalties usually bear some relationship to the financial harm caused by the breach of fiduciary duty. 

A South Carolina business attorney could talk to you and help you seek to recover the economic harm that you or your business entity suffered as a result of the breach of fiduciary duty. Contact our office today for help with your case, we gladly offer a free consultation.