Business Partnership & Ownership Disputes Attorney in Houston, Texas
Maybe your partner opened a competing company down the street, or the other members of your LLC stopped sending you financial reports and cut your distributions. In Texas, your options in a business partnership or ownership dispute usually come from two places: your partnership, company, or shareholder agreement, and the Texas Business Organizations Code, which fills in the gaps that agreement leaves open. Texas law gives partners enforceable duties of loyalty and care and gives co-owners a right to see company records, but there is an important limit. A carefully drafted agreement can narrow or reshape many of those protections, so the document you signed when the business began often decides how much leverage you have now.
At Diab Law Firm, PLLC, I represent Houston business owners who need to protect their ownership stake, recover money they believe was taken, or negotiate a clean exit from a business relationship that has stopped working. If you are weighing your next move, a free consultation is a practical place to start. Bring your governing documents and recent financial records, and I will help you understand what your agreement allows and what Texas law adds.
Duties of Partners and Co-Owners in Texas
In a Texas partnership, each partner owes the partnership and the other partners a duty of loyalty and a duty of care, and must act in good faith and in a way the partner reasonably believes serves the partnership. You can read these general standards of partner conduct in Section 152.204. Loyalty generally means a partner must account for profits or property gained from partnership business rather than keeping them. Care means acting as an ordinarily prudent person would in similar circumstances, and a simple error in judgment is not, by itself, a breach.
The rules shift depending on how the business is organized. General partners cannot eliminate the duties of loyalty and care, though their agreement may set standards that are not manifestly unreasonable. LLC agreements allow more flexibility in expanding or restricting those duties. In a corporation, directors generally owe their duties to the company itself rather than to individual shareholders. In practice, this means the same conduct might be a clear breach in one business and permitted in another, so reviewing the governing documents comes before any decision to sue.
What I Can Offer You in a Business Partnership/Ownership Dispute
The right strategy depends on what you want at the end: keep the business, get paid for your share, or stop a co-owner's conduct before it does more damage. When I take on an ownership dispute, I focus on giving you a clear picture of your position and a plan built around that goal.
A close review of your governing documents: I examine your partnership, company, or shareholder agreement alongside the Texas Business Organizations Code to identify the duties, voting rights, buyout terms, and dispute-resolution clauses that apply to you.
Help getting the records you are entitled to: I can prepare a written records demand that states a proper purpose and goes to the right person, then review what comes back for signs of self-dealing or missing money.
Negotiated buyouts and separations: When a clean break makes more sense than a court fight, I negotiate buyout terms, valuation, and separation agreements designed to protect your financial interest.
Representation in litigation: If negotiation fails, I represent you in court on claims such as breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, or an accounting of partnership business.
Planning for what comes next: Whether you stay in the business or leave it, I can help restructure the company or draft new agreements so the same dispute does not repeat.
Direct access and a voice in every decision: You work with me personally, I keep you informed on where your matter stands, and I can communicate in English, French, Japanese, or Arabic.
An ownership dispute puts both your investment and your working relationships on the line. Having one attorney who understands both the business and legal sides lets you make decisions with a full view of what you stand to gain or lose.
Other Business Law Services I Offer
Ownership disputes rarely stay in one lane. A fight between partners can turn into a contract dispute, a negotiation over selling the company, or an opportunity to restructure so the same problem doesn't return. These are the other areas where I help business owners:
Business Counsel & Contracts: I review, draft, and negotiate the agreements a business relies on every day and can serve as outsourced general counsel for companies that need ongoing legal guidance without a full-time in-house lawyer.
Business Organization: I help entrepreneurs choose the right entity and set it up properly, including drafting partnership, company, or shareholder agreements that outline how future disagreements will be handled.
Commercial Litigation: When a business dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation, I represent companies and owners in court, including claims involving construction disputes and other commercial matters.
Business Contract Disputes & Unpaid Invoices: I help businesses enforce their contracts and pursue payment when a customer, vendor, or other party fails to pay what it owes.
Mergers & Acquisitions: I advise buyers and sellers on purchase and sale agreements and related contracts, which often becomes the cleanest path when co-owners decide to part ways.
If your partnership dispute touches any of these areas, it helps to have one attorney looking at the full picture, from the documents that created the business to the steps needed to protect it.