Boynton Beach Breach of Contract Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, landlords, tenants, and co-owners in Boynton Beach whose contracts have been broken, ignored, or rewritten after the fact, and we serve clients throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. A Boynton Beach breach of contract attorney is usually called when a deal that looked clean on signing day starts to fail: a buyer walks away from a closing, a partner stops paying what the operating agreement requires, a contractor abandons a job, or a lease is terminated over a dispute neither side can resolve.

The first decisions in a contract dispute tend to matter more than the later ones. What you say in a demand letter, whether you keep performing your own obligations, which court you file in, and how long you wait can each change the outcome. Some claims also carry deadlines that are shorter than people expect, and one common remedy in real estate cases has a limitations period of just one year.

Contract Disputes We Handle for Boynton Beach Clients

• Purchase and sale agreements: Failed closings, refused deposits, financing contingencies that one side says were met and the other says were not, and sellers who try to back out after a better offer arrives. Our firm has obtained specific performance of a commercial real estate contract after a bench trial.
• Operating and shareholder agreements: Disputes between LLC members and shareholders over distributions, capital contributions, buyout terms, and whether one owner has breached the governing documents.
• Commercial leases: Landlord and tenant disputes over rent, defaults, build-out obligations, personal guaranties, and early termination, including notice requirements under Florida’s landlord-tenant statute.
• Construction and contractor agreements: Unfinished work, defective work, payment withholding, and change-order disputes between owners, developers, and trades.
• Loan and financing documents: Defaults, guaranty enforcement, and disputes over whether the lender or borrower complied with the note and related agreements.
• Business sale and investment agreements: Claims that a seller misrepresented revenue, liabilities, or assets, or that a buyer failed to pay purchase price installments.
• Unpaid distributions and missing funds: Contract claims that overlap with accounting demands and breach of fiduciary duty when a partner or manager cannot explain where company money went.
• Oral and implied agreements: Handshake deals and course-of-dealing arrangements, which are enforceable in Florida but harder to prove and subject to a shorter filing window than written contracts.

Deadlines That Control a Florida Contract Claim

The filing window depends on how the agreement was made. A claim founded on a written instrument carries a five-year limitations period under Florida Statutes section 95.11(2)(b). A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years under section 95.11(3)(j). The 2023 amendments to the limitations statute that shortened negligence claims to two years did not change the written-contract period, so people sometimes assume a shorter deadline applies when it does not.

Other clocks run alongside the contract claim. An action for specific performance, where you ask the court to force the other side to complete the deal, has a one-year period under section 95.11(6)(a). Rescission claims run four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. And if the dispute involves a professional’s work, a two-year discovery-based period can apply even when the claim is framed as a contract claim.

The practical point is that a single dispute can contain several claims with different deadlines. A buyer who waits eighteen months to see whether a seller will relent may still have a damages claim but may have lost the right to demand the property itself. Sorting out which remedies are still alive is one of the first things we do on intake.

What to Do When the Other Side Breaches

Start by pulling together the complete contract file: the signed agreement, every amendment, side letters, emails and texts about performance, payment records, and any notice either side has sent. Contract cases are won on the wording of the agreement and the history of how the parties actually dealt with each other, so gaps in the paper trail matter. Look specifically for notice-and-cure provisions, attorney’s fee clauses, venue and governing-law clauses, and arbitration or mediation requirements, because these determine how and where the case can proceed.

Be careful about your own performance. If you stop paying or stop delivering because the other side breached, you may hand them a counterclaim. Whether you are entitled to suspend performance depends on the contract language and on whether the breach was material, and that judgment is worth making with a lawyer before you act, not after.

Decide early whether your goal is money, completion of the deal, or an exit. Damages, specific performance, rescission, and an injunction are different remedies with different proof and different deadlines. Where assets are at risk of being moved or spent, we also evaluate emergency injunctive relief while the case is pending.

On venue, Boynton Beach sits in Palm Beach County, so most cases are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. The county court in Palm Beach County hears claims above the small claims limit up to the county court ceiling, which is adjusted periodically, and the circuit court hears larger cases. Many Boynton Beach residents and businesses find the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach closest for filings and hearings, though the main courthouse in West Palm Beach hears circuit and county civil matters. If the contract has a Broward County connection, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit may be the proper court, and its complex business divisions can take large commercial disputes. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale among other cities, becomes an option when the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy is high enough. Choosing among these is a strategic decision, not a formality.

Finally, ask whether the dispute should go to mediation or arbitration. Many commercial contracts require one or both, and even when they do not, a negotiated resolution is often the quickest and least expensive way to a result. We pursue the path likely to serve your goals and budget.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Contract Dispute

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Boynton Beach and the rest of Palm Beach County and Broward County, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has built his practice around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court.

The firm’s results include a 32-page final judgment issued by the Broward County Circuit Court after a 5-day bench trial, awarding a client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of outcome depends on careful preparation of the contract language and the parties’ history, which is how we approach every case. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, represent out of state clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with Florida business or real estate interests, and handle local court appearances so those clients do not have to travel for every hearing. A significant part of our work comes from referrals by other attorneys.

Boynton Beach Breach of Contract Questions

What counts as a breach of contract in Florida?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform a duty the contract requires, without legal excuse. You generally need to show a valid contract, a material breach by the other side, and damages resulting from it. Minor deviations may support a smaller claim, while a material breach can excuse your own further performance.

How long do I have to sue?

Five years for a claim founded on a written contract and four years for an oral or implied one. Related claims such as specific performance, rescission, and fraud have their own periods, and the specific performance period is only one year, so the deadline should be checked claim by claim.

Can I force the other side to complete the deal instead of paying me?

Sometimes. Specific performance is an equitable remedy most often granted in real estate sales, where each property is treated as unique. You must be ready and able to perform your own side, and you must act within the one-year period.

Is an oral agreement enforceable?

Many oral agreements are enforceable, but some categories, such as certain real estate transactions, must be in writing. Oral contracts are harder to prove and have the shorter four-year filing window.

Should I keep performing my obligations if the other party has breached?

Not automatically, and not without checking the contract. Stopping performance can create a counterclaim against you if the breach was not material or if the agreement required notice and an opportunity to cure. Get advice before you suspend payment or delivery.

Can I recover my attorney’s fees?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for them. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause, which can cut both ways, so it affects whether and how a case should be pursued.

Does my contract’s arbitration clause mean I cannot go to court?

If the clause covers the dispute and is enforceable, the case generally goes to arbitration instead. The scope of the clause, who is bound by it, and whether a party has waived it by litigating are all disputed questions we analyze.

Which court will hear my case, and how long will it take?

That depends on the amount in controversy, the contract’s venue clause, and the parties. Palm Beach County cases go to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which assigns civil cases to different tracks based on complexity. Timelines range from a few months for a negotiated resolution to well over a year for a contested trial.

My business partner breached our operating agreement. Is that a contract case or a business divorce?

Often both. A breach of an operating or shareholder agreement is a contract claim, but it may also support claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, a buyout, or judicial dissolution where owners are deadlocked or assets are being misappropriated.

I live out of state. Can you handle a Florida contract dispute for me?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with Florida business or real estate interests, handle the local court proceedings, and keep you informed at each stage.

Is a smaller contract dispute worth taking to a lawyer?

Often it is, if only to evaluate it. A consultation can tell you whether a demand letter, mediation, or filing suit makes economic sense, and whether a fee clause changes the math. We look for resolutions that fit your goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Serving Contract Dispute Clients Across Boynton Beach and Palm Beach County

We represent clients in Boynton Beach and the surrounding communities of Palm Beach County, including Lantana, Hypoluxo, Ocean Ridge, Gulf Stream, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and Greenacres. Our work extends north through Lake Worth Beach, Lake Clarke Shores, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter, and west toward Belle Glade and Pahokee. We also serve clients in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, and Hollywood. Whether the dispute involves a Boynton Beach commercial lease, a Delray Beach purchase contract, or a West Palm Beach partnership agreement, we bring the same level of detail to the case.

Speak With a Boynton Beach Breach of Contract Lawyer

When a signed agreement is not being honored, the choices you make first shape what remedies remain. Our team can review the contract, explain which claims and deadlines apply, and recommend a realistic path. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to speak with a Boynton Beach breach of contract lawyer about your dispute and schedule a consultation.