Riviera Beach Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Riviera Beach owners, investors, and landlords who have reached the point of asking whether a property dispute belongs in court are usually weighing something concrete: a closing that collapsed, a co-owner who will not agree to sell, a tenant who has stopped paying, or a recorded claim that clouds title. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for clients in Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, and works with out-of-state owners who hold South Florida property. If you are looking for a Riviera Beach real estate litigation attorney, the first question is usually which kind of dispute you actually have, because the remedy, the court, and the clock all depend on the answer.

Real estate disputes tend to be mistaken for one another. A buyer who wants the property itself is pursuing specific performance, which is a different lawsuit with a different deadline than a claim for money damages. A co-owner who wants out of a shared property is filing for partition, not quieting title. A person who has lived on land for years and claims it is making an adverse possession argument that follows its own statutory rules. Picking the wrong theory, or filing it too late, can end a strong case before a judge ever reaches the merits.

Riviera Beach sits in Palm Beach County, so these cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the Southern District of Florida available for matters that belong in federal court. Knowing how those courts handle civil cases, and which track a case lands on, is part of choosing a strategy before the first pleading is drafted.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Riviera Beach Property Disputes

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between 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, adds years of business and real estate experience in both state and federal courts.

Real estate litigation rarely stays purely about real estate. Property is often held through an LLC, split among former business partners, or tied to a contract that sets out exactly who owes what. Because the firm’s work centers on contracts and ownership disputes, it can address the entity questions and the title questions in the same case. The firm also represents landlords and tenants, and handles failed closings and purchase and sale contract disputes.

The firm’s results include a 32-page final judgment issued by the Broward County Circuit Court after a five-day bench trial, awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A win like that depends on the precise wording of the agreement and the history between the parties, which is the level of detail the firm brings to every file.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file and can answer when you call. A strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and the goal is the resolution that fits your objectives and budget, not a longer case for its own sake. Many clients are referred by other attorneys, and the firm handles local court appearances for clients who live in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or elsewhere, so owners do not need to travel for every hearing.

Types of Real Estate Disputes We Handle for Riviera Beach Owners and Investors

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer or seller who walks away from a signed contract can face a claim for damages or a demand that the deal be completed. The outcome often turns on contingencies, deadlines, deposit provisions, and what each side did in the weeks before closing.
• Specific Performance Actions: When the property is unique and money would not make a buyer whole, a court can order the sale to go forward. These actions carry a short filing window, so waiting to see whether the other side comes around can cost you the claim.
• Partition Actions: Co-owners who cannot agree can ask the court to divide the property or order it sold and split the proceeds. Common situations include former business partners, siblings who inherited together, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared purchase.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: Competing ownership claims, a recorded instrument by someone who is not the rightful owner, or a questionable conveyance can all cloud title. A quiet title action asks the court to determine who owns the land and remove the cloud.
• Commercial Lease and Landlord-Tenant Disputes: Nonpayment, lease defaults, and terminations of residential and commercial tenancies all follow notice rules that must be followed precisely before a landlord can seek possession.
• Disputes Between Co-Owners Through an Entity: When property is held in an LLC or corporation, the fight over the building often becomes a fight over the company, including deadlock, misuse of funds, and dissolution.
• Injunctions to Protect Property: When a property is about to be sold, encumbered, or damaged during a dispute, early and emergency injunctive relief can preserve the status quo until the court rules.

What to Do Right Now if a Real Estate Dispute Is Developing in Riviera Beach

Start by pulling together the paper that governs the relationship: the signed contract, any amendments or addenda, the deed, the operating or partnership agreement if an entity owns the property, closing statements, lease documents, and every email or text where terms, extensions, or promises were discussed. Real estate cases are won on documents, and the version you hold may differ from what the other side is now describing. Do not delete anything, and do not sign anything new, including a so-called clarification, until someone has reviewed it.

Then look at the calendar, because Florida sets very different deadlines depending on the claim. A lawsuit on a written contract generally has a five-year window, while a contract claim that is not based on a written instrument has four years. An action for specific performance must be brought within one year, which is far shorter than most owners assume. Fraud claims run four years from discovery with an outer limit of 12 years, and negligence claims now carry a two-year period for causes of action that arose after March 24, 2023. If your matter involves a claim to recover real property, Florida law generally bars the suit unless you or a predecessor held possession within seven years before filing. Because the clock may already be running, early review matters more than almost any other step.

Be careful with what you say and do in the meantime. Written threats, self-help measures like changing locks or cutting off utilities, and half-formed settlement emails can all become exhibits. If you are a landlord, the notice requirements are strict: a nonpayment notice gives the tenant three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, and a notice to terminate for non-curable conduct gives seven days to vacate. Accepting partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice does not by itself waive your right to proceed, but it must be handled with a proper receipt, a registry deposit, or a fresh notice, or the case can be derailed.

When a lawsuit is necessary, a Riviera Beach case is filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. County court hears civil claims up to a jurisdictional limit that is adjusted periodically, and circuit court hears larger disputes as well as matters requiring equitable relief such as partition, quiet title, injunctions, and judicial dissolution. Palm Beach County assigns civil cases to a track through its differentiated case management order, which shapes how quickly the case moves. If the property or the opposing party is across the county line, Broward County cases belong to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which maintains a complex business division for larger disputes.

Partition, Quiet Title, and Adverse Possession: Three Remedies People Confuse

A partition action is the tool for co-owners who want out. Under Florida’s partition statutes, the court has equitable authority over these cases and can appoint three commissioners to decide whether the property can fairly be divided. If division would prejudice the owners, the court can order a sale at public auction and distribute the proceeds according to each owner’s interest. A court may allow a sale on reasonable credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless every party consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition cases filed on or after July 1, 2020, and covers property held as tenants in common where there is no binding agreement governing partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and one further condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. When it applies, the court must follow the heirs property procedure unless every cotenant agrees otherwise, and a partition in kind is not entered without the commissioners considering the statutory factors. For families in Riviera Beach who inherited a house and cannot agree, this can change both the process and the result.

Quiet title is a different question: who owns this land? A complaint can ask the court to cancel a conveyance or other instrument and remove the cloud when someone who is not the rightful owner holds it or asserts a claim. Plaintiffs are generally expected to trace title back at least seven years before filing, and the action can be brought in any county where part of the land sits. Where a claim rests on an allegedly fraudulent attempted conveyance, the statute provides a summary procedure and directs the court to advance the case on its calendar.

Adverse possession is the claim by someone who has occupied land they do not hold paper title to. Without color of title, a claimant must show actual, continued possession for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of any other right, and must file a return with a full legal description sufficient for the property appraiser to identify the portion claimed. With color of title, seven years of continuous possession is also required, and the instrument must have been recorded with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property sits. These claims are fact-intensive, and both owners defending their land and occupants asserting a claim need to understand the elements early.

When the Property Is Owned Through an LLC or Corporation

Many Riviera Beach investment properties are held through an entity, and a falling-out among the owners can freeze the building along with the company. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a circuit court may dissolve an LLC at the request of a manager or member when it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement, when controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In these proceedings the court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can often avoid dissolution by electing to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. An election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. Throughout, the court can issue injunctions and appoint a custodian to preserve assets. Operating and shareholder agreements may also contain deadlock sale provisions that take priority when properly initiated, which is one more reason the written agreement deserves a careful read before anyone files.

Questions Riviera Beach Property Owners Ask About Real Estate Litigation

How long do I have to sue over a breach of a real estate contract in Florida?

For a written contract, the general limitations period is five years. A claim based on an oral or implied agreement has four years. Specific performance is the exception to remember, because that action must be brought within one year. The right deadline depends on which claim you are actually bringing, so identify it early.

What is the difference between specific performance and damages?

Damages are a money award measured by your loss. Specific performance is a court order requiring the other side to complete the transaction, which matters when the property itself is what you bargained for. A buyer may plead both in the alternative, but the short one-year window for specific performance means the choice should not be put off.

Can a co-owner force me to sell our property?

In many cases, yes. Any co-owner can ask the circuit court for partition. If the property cannot be divided fairly, the court can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. If the property qualifies as heirs property, a different statutory procedure applies that gives other cotenants additional protections.

What does a quiet title action accomplish?

It asks the court to determine who owns the land and to cancel competing instruments or claims that cloud title. A judgment lets an owner sell, finance, or insure the property without an unresolved adverse claim hanging over it.

How does a landlord properly end a tenancy for nonpayment?

The landlord serves a written demand for payment or possession, and if the default continues for three days after delivery, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays, the landlord may terminate. Defects in the notice can undermine the later eviction case, so the form and delivery matter.

If I accept partial rent after serving a notice, do I lose my right to evict?

Not automatically. Florida law says accepting partial rent does not waive the right to terminate or sue, but the landlord must follow one of the statutory approaches: issue a receipt showing the amount, the date, and the balance due, deposit the partial rent in the court registry when filing, or serve a new three-day notice for the revised amount.

Can someone take my land by living on it?

Adverse possession exists in Florida but is demanding. The claimant must show seven years of open, continuous possession under a claim of title, and must satisfy specific filing and description requirements. Owners who know someone is using their land should address it before the years accumulate.

My business partner and I own a building through an LLC and cannot agree. Do we fight over the building or the company?

Usually both, and they are intertwined. The operating agreement controls much of the answer, including buyout and deadlock provisions. If the agreement does not resolve it, the court has statutory tools such as a receiver, a custodian, a buyout order, or dissolution when grounds like deadlock with irreparable injury or misappropriation of assets are shown.

Do I have to live in Florida to hire your firm for a Riviera Beach property case?

No. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own South Florida property or have partners and co-owners here. The firm handles local court appearances and keeps you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Will every property dispute end up in a trial?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, often after a demand letter or an early injunction hearing changes the other side’s calculation. The firm’s attorneys handle both settlement work and bench and jury trials, and the right path depends on your goals and budget.

Can a court stop a sale or transfer of property while our dispute is pending?

It can. Courts may enter temporary and permanent injunctions, including emergency relief, to preserve property and assets while the case is decided. These requests move quickly and depend on documented, specific facts, which is why gathering paperwork early helps.

Is a federal court ever involved in a Riviera Beach real estate dispute?

Sometimes. The Southern District of Florida covers Palm Beach and Broward Counties and holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, among other places. Most property disputes belong in state court, but the presence of out-of-state parties or federal claims can bring a case into federal court.

Real Estate Litigation Representation Across Riviera Beach and Palm Beach County

The firm represents clients throughout Riviera Beach and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, including Singer Island, Lake Park, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Shores, Mangonia Park, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. Further out, the firm serves Juno Beach, Jupiter, Tequesta, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton. Owners in the western part of the county, including Belle Glade and the Glades communities, are also within reach.

The firm’s work extends south into Broward County, where it represents clients in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Hollywood, and the neighboring communities along the coast and inland. Whether a dispute involves a waterfront property on Singer Island, a commercial building along the Broadway corridor, an inherited home owned by siblings in different states, or an investment held through an LLC, the same questions of ownership, contract language, and deadline apply. Clients with property interests here who live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut can rely on the firm to manage the local proceedings.

Talk With a Riviera Beach Real Estate Litigation Lawyer

If a contract has broken down, a co-owner will not cooperate, a tenant has defaulted, or a claim has been recorded against your title, the available remedies and deadlines depend on facts that are easiest to preserve now. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team offers a direct conversation about where you stand and what a Riviera Beach real estate litigation lawyer can realistically accomplish in your situation. Call the firm to discuss your property dispute and learn which path fits your goals, whether that is negotiation, mediation, injunctive relief, or a court filing.