Davie Business Transactions Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in Davie and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, handling the deals that get a company started, bought, sold, or restructured, and the disputes that follow when those deals go sideways. A Davie business transactions attorney earns his keep in two places: at the drafting table, before anyone signs, and in the courtroom, after someone claims the agreement meant something else.

Davie’s economy runs on closely held companies: contractors and builders, equestrian and agricultural operations, medical and professional practices, and family-owned commercial property. These businesses are often held by two or three owners who trusted each other when the paperwork was thin. The transaction documents are what decide who controls the company, what happens when someone wants out, and how much a departing owner is paid. Getting those terms right on day one is far cheaper than arguing about them in year six.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Transactions Work

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. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts.

That litigation background shapes how the firm handles transactions. Andrew Schwartz’s career has been built around contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, so the team knows which clauses get fought over and which gaps become lawsuits. We draft and negotiate with an eye toward how a judge would read the language later.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget. The firm’s results include a 32-page final judgment issued after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida deals.

Business Transactions We Handle for Davie Owners and Investors

• Purchase and Sale of a Business: Asset purchases and equity purchases allocate risk very differently, and the representations, indemnities, and closing conditions in the agreement determine who pays if a hidden liability surfaces after closing.
• Operating Agreements and Shareholder Agreements: These documents set voting rights, capital contributions, distributions, transfer restrictions, and buyout formulas. Boilerplate forms downloaded online rarely address deadlock, and deadlock is where owners get stuck.
• Commercial Leases: Retail, office, and flex-space tenants and landlords in Davie negotiate rent escalations, personal guaranties, use clauses, and default remedies that can follow an owner personally.
• Commercial Real Estate Contracts: Purchase and sale contracts for commercial property turn on deadlines, deposit terms, due diligence periods, and financing contingencies. Failed closings are a recurring source of litigation, including claims for specific performance.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Promissory notes, security agreements, and personal guaranties often expose owners to liability they did not expect. We review the terms before you sign, and we litigate them when a lender or borrower takes a position the documents do not support.
• Construction and Vendor Contracts: Contracts with builders, subcontractors, and suppliers allocate delay, defect, and payment risk. The wording on change orders and payment triggers matters when a project stalls.
• Buy-Sell and Exit Provisions: A well-written buy-sell clause fixes how an owner’s interest is valued and purchased on departure, death, or disagreement. Without one, the owners may end up asking a court to decide.
• Family Business Arrangements: Siblings, parents, children, and in-laws who share ownership need written terms on control, compensation, and succession, drafted with the discretion these relationships require.

Decisions to Make Before You Sign, and What to Do When a Deal Is Already in Trouble

If you are still at the negotiating stage, the most valuable thing you can do is slow down at the points where the document allocates control and exit. Decide who has authority to bind the company, what requires a unanimous vote, how an owner’s interest is valued if someone leaves, and whether the agreement sets out a process for deadlock. Those four questions are where most business divorces begin. Ask for the documents in writing early, and do not rely on a handshake understanding about something that matters. Florida courts enforce what the written agreement says, and an oral promise that contradicts it is hard to prove.

If the deal is already in dispute, gather the signed agreement and every amendment, the correspondence and emails around the negotiation, financial statements, bank records, and anything showing how the parties actually behaved. The history of the parties’ dealings can matter as much as the text. Then look at the clock. Florida gives five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an oral or implied one. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. A claim to rescind a contract has four years, and an action for specific performance has just one year, which catches people off guard. Waiting to see if a counterparty comes around can cost you the claim.

Where the matter ends up in court depends on the amount and the type of dispute. Claims above the county court limit are heard in circuit court. Davie sits in Broward County, which is in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and the Seventeenth Circuit has a complex business division that handles large business and construction litigation and certain business dissolutions. If the other owner lives or operates in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit may be the proper venue. Federal claims and some diversity cases go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Choosing the right forum, and knowing whether a mediation or arbitration clause controls, should happen before anything is filed.

The common mistakes are predictable. Owners keep operating under a dead agreement without addressing it, move money between company and personal accounts without documentation, or send heated emails that later become exhibits. If funds are going missing, speak to counsel quickly, because courts can issue injunctions to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

When a Transaction Becomes a Dispute Between Owners

Many of the disputes that grow out of business transactions are fights between co-owners. Florida’s LLC statute allows a court to dissolve a company at the request of a member or manager on specific grounds, including that it is no longer reasonably practicable to run the business under the operating agreement, that those in control are acting illegally or fraudulently, that assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or that the owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In those proceedings a court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. If the operating agreement already contains a deadlock sale provision that was started before the court finds a deadlock, that contractual process generally takes the place of dissolution.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder can seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or the other shareholders can respond by electing to buy out the petitioner at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. Within 30 days of such a proceeding starting, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they may avoid dissolution by buying the petitioner’s shares. A buyout election is irrevocable unless a court finds it equitable to modify it. The practical lesson is that the transaction documents you sign at the beginning largely decide how an exit plays out at the end.

Co-owned real estate raises related issues. When owners cannot agree on what to do with shared property, Florida law lets an owner ask the court for partition, either by dividing the land or ordering its sale and dividing the proceeds. These cases arise among former business partners, investors who want out of a shared project, and heirs. We also handle title disputes and quiet title actions for clients who need to clear competing ownership claims.

Davie Business Transactions: Common Questions

What does a business transactions attorney actually do?

The work covers drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the agreements that create, transfer, or finance a business: purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, leases, loan documents, and commercial real estate contracts. It also includes advising on how those documents will hold up if the relationship breaks down.

Do I need an attorney to buy or sell a small business?

Small deals often carry the same risks as large ones. The purchase agreement decides what liabilities transfer, what the seller promises about the books and the assets, and what happens if those promises are wrong. Having counsel before signing is generally much less costly than litigating afterward.

How long do I have to sue for breach of a written contract in Florida?

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. The change to Florida’s negligence deadline in 2023 did not alter this period. Oral and implied contract claims have four years.

Is the deadline different if I want the court to force the other side to complete the deal?

Yes. An action for specific performance has a one-year period, much shorter than the general contract deadline. If you want a court to compel a sale or closing, delay is especially risky.

Our operating agreement has no buyout clause. Where does that leave us?

Without a negotiated exit mechanism, owners fall back on statutory remedies, which usually means a negotiated buyout or a court proceeding. A court can order dissolution on specific statutory grounds or order a purchase of a member’s interest, but outcomes are less predictable than a clause you agreed to in advance. Adding a buy-sell provision while owners still get along is far easier.

Can a deal be rescinded if I was misled into signing?

Possibly. A claim to rescind a contract has a four-year period, and a fraud claim runs four years from discovery, subject to a twelve-year outer limit. The facts matter: what was said, what was in writing, and when you learned the truth.

Does a mediation or arbitration clause in my contract really bind me?

Generally, yes. Courts commonly enforce agreed dispute resolution clauses, so you may be required to mediate or arbitrate before or instead of filing suit. Read the clause early, because it affects the forum, the timeline, and the cost.

Which court would hear a business dispute arising in Davie?

Larger civil claims go to the circuit court in Broward County, part of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which has a complex business division for certain large business matters. Smaller claims fall to county court under the monetary limits that apply. Some cases belong in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.

I live out of state but own part of a Davie business. Can your firm handle it?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can I get a court order to stop a partner from moving company money?

In urgent situations, courts can grant temporary injunctive relief to prevent assets from being moved or spent while a dispute is pending. The court will want evidence of the risk, so preserve bank records and communications as early as you can.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer before a dispute exists?

Often it is. Our outside general counsel program has the firm serve as the company’s registered agent and help with contract, compliance, and operational questions. Having a litigator review your documents before problems arise frequently keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit.

Serving Business Owners From Davie to Boca Raton and Beyond

We represent clients in Davie and the neighboring Broward County communities of Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Weston, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Coral Springs, Parkland, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, and Margate. Our work extends north through Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens.

Whether you own a commercial building along a Davie corridor, run a family company in Broward County, or hold an investment stake from out of state, the firm’s business transactions and litigation work covers the same ground: agreements drafted carefully and disputes handled directly when they arise. Clients from the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area with South Florida interests are a regular part of our practice.

Talk With a Davie Business Transactions Lawyer

If you are about to sign a deal, or you are already stuck in one that is not working, a conversation with a Davie business transactions lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can tell you where you stand and which deadlines apply. We aim for the resolution that fits your goals and your budget, whether that is a cleaner agreement, a negotiated exit, or a court filing. Call to schedule a consultation.