Palm Beach County Business Litigation Attorney

A business dispute in Palm Beach County that involves more than $50,000 belongs in the circuit court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in West Palm Beach and also holds proceedings at branch courthouses in Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade. Where a case lands, which judge hears it, and how quickly an emergency motion can be set for hearing all shape strategy long before anyone argues the merits. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles contract fights, partnership and LLC member disputes, real estate litigation, and injunction proceedings for business owners, investors, and families across Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida.

If you are searching for a Palm Beach County business litigation attorney, you are probably in one of a few situations: a co-owner has stopped cooperating, money has gone missing from a company account, a contract has been breached and the other side is not budging, or a property you share with someone else has become a source of conflict. Each of these has its own clock, its own remedies, and its own best forum, and getting the early decisions right usually matters more than anything said at trial.

This area also draws a particular kind of client. Many people with companies, investment properties, or shares of real estate in Palm Beach County live elsewhere for part of the year or all of it. Disputes between partners who split time between here and the Northeast are common, and they require a lawyer who can handle local court appearances while keeping a distant client fully informed.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Litigation in Palm Beach County

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 his work centered on 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. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, which means everyone working on your matter knows the file and can answer when you call. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and the firm sets up scheduled conference calls at times that work for everyone involved. Clients tend to arrive expecting to want the most combative lawyer available; in practice, what most want is someone who acts as the situation requires, uses finesse when finesse will do, and keeps the cost of the fight in proportion to what is at stake. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, so a case can be steered toward the resolution that serves the client’s goals and budget.

The firm’s trial work is a matter of record. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment in May 2024 awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That result reflects the kind of work these cases demand: close reading of contract language, careful reconstruction of what the parties did and said, and preparation detailed enough to hold up through a multi-day trial. A significant portion of the firm’s practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have disputes in Florida and Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation.

Disputes We Handle for Palm Beach County Businesses and Property Owners

• Business Divorce: Co-owners of an LLC, corporation, or partnership who can no longer work together may need a negotiated buyout, a sale, a structured wind-down, or a court-ordered dissolution. Valuation fights and deadlocked management are the usual flashpoints.
• Breach of Operating and Shareholder Agreements: These cases turn on the exact wording of the agreement and the history of how the owners actually behaved, including whether buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions were followed.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A manager, majority owner, or partner who self-deals, diverts opportunities, or freezes out a minority owner can face claims for damages and an accounting.
• Missing Funds and Unpaid Distributions: Diverted company money, commingled accounts, disputed capital contributions, and managers who cannot account for funds support claims for an accounting and recovery, sometimes with emergency relief to freeze assets.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and other significant business arrangements, including disputes over whether a party can be compelled to perform.
• Partition Actions and Title Disputes: Former business partners, siblings who inherited property, unmarried couples, and investors seeking to exit a shared holding may need a court to divide or sell the property. Quiet title actions clear up competing ownership claims.
• Real Estate Litigation: Failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, and landlord and tenant matters involving commercial and residential property.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings, parents and children, and in-laws who share ownership face questions about control, compensation, and succession, and these cases call for discretion alongside firm protection of financial interests.

Acting Quickly: Deadlines, Courts, and First Moves in a Palm Beach County Dispute

The first practical step is to gather the documents that define the relationship: the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, or partnership agreement, the contract at issue, bank and accounting records, and correspondence in which the dispute began to take shape. Do not alter, move, or “clean up” company records, and do not retaliate by cutting off a co-owner’s access without first understanding what the governing documents allow, because a hasty move can hand the other side a claim of its own.

Deadlines deserve attention early. A lawsuit founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to a 12-year outer limit. Negligence claims, including professional malpractice claims, carry two years, and the shortened negligence period applies to causes of action that accrued after March 2023. A suit for specific performance of a contract has only one year, which is a trap for buyers or sellers who wait to see whether the other side will come around. These periods can be affected by when a claim accrued and by the nature of the claim, so a lawyer should review the timeline against your facts rather than relying on a general rule.

Where you file matters as well. Palm Beach County cases are heard by the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. Claims above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, and county court handles the smaller band of civil disputes below that line, with small claims below that. The Fifteenth Circuit assigns civil cases to tracks under a differentiated case management order, which affects how fast a case moves toward trial. Disputes with federal jurisdiction can proceed in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. If the other party or the property is in Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Fort Lauderdale may be the right forum, and that circuit operates a complex business division that handles dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation.

If money is leaving the company, or an asset is about to be sold, hidden, or encumbered, waiting for a final judgment may mean the remedy arrives too late. This is where temporary and permanent injunctions come in, along with, in dissolution cases, the appointment of a receiver or custodian. Courts require a hearing and notice to interested parties before appointing a receiver for an LLC, so building the evidentiary record quickly is part of the work. The most common mistakes at this stage are signing a buyout or settlement proposal without a valuation, continuing to operate as if nothing has changed while a co-owner builds a case, and assuming a deadlock clause in the agreement will automatically control the outcome.

When Co-Owners Cannot Stay Together: Dissolution, Buyouts, and Partition

Florida’s LLC statute lets a member or manager ask a circuit court to dissolve the company on specific grounds: the business is being conducted unlawfully, it is not reasonably practicable to carry on activities consistent with the articles and operating agreement, controlling members or managers have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury, or the managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In a dissolution proceeding the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or, as an alternative, order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. One wrinkle worth knowing: if your operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision and someone initiates it before the court finds the deadlock grounds exist, that contractual mechanism can take the place of a judicial dissolution order.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, including where the corporation has abandoned its business and failed to liquidate within a reasonable time. Once certain dissolution proceedings begin, the corporation must notify the other shareholders within 30 days that they can avoid dissolution by electing to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order on those terms, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it. During the case, the court can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve company assets.

Real estate co-ownership has its own route out. Partition actions are brought in chancery under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners to determine whether the land can be divided fairly; if they report it cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. A sale on credit requires that at least one-third of the purchase money be paid down unless all parties consent otherwise. When the property was inherited, Florida’s heirs property provisions can apply, and they add protections that make partition in kind or a buyout more likely than a forced auction. Quiet title actions, meanwhile, allow a claimant to have a court determine ownership and remove a cloud on title, and the plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.

Palm Beach County Business Litigation FAQ

What does a business litigation attorney actually do?

A business litigation attorney represents owners, investors, and companies in disputes over contracts, ownership, money, and property. That includes filing or defending lawsuits, seeking emergency injunctions, negotiating buyouts, and handling mediation or arbitration when a case is better resolved outside a courtroom.

Can I force a business partner out of an LLC in Florida?

It depends on your operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions. Florida law also gives courts power to act when a member has engaged in serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. A lawyer should read the agreement before you take any step.

What can I do if a partner is taking money from the business?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. When assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can issue injunctive relief while the case is pending, so speed in gathering bank records and documentation matters.

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

Five years for a claim founded on a written instrument, and four years for an oral or implied contract. A specific performance action has a shorter one-year period. Because the right deadline depends on how the claim is framed, have it reviewed promptly.

Does every business dispute end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require one of those steps before suit. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and trial, and the right path depends on your goals and budget.

What is a deadlock, and does it justify dissolving my LLC?

A deadlock exists when managers or members cannot break an impasse and the company is suffering or threatened with irreparable injury. It is one of several statutory grounds for judicial dissolution, but your operating agreement may contain a deadlock sale mechanism that controls first, so the document has to be reviewed.

Can a court order my partner to buy me out instead of dissolving the company?

In some circumstances, yes. In an LLC dissolution proceeding, the court may order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest, and in corporate cases the other shareholders or the corporation may elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value to avoid dissolution. Valuation then becomes the central fight.

How long does a business case take in the Palm Beach County courts?

It varies with complexity, the case management track assigned, and whether the parties settle. A matter that turns on an emergency injunction can see a hearing relatively quickly, while a fully contested case with discovery and a bench or jury trial takes considerably longer. A lawyer can give you a realistic sense of timing once the claims and defenses are clear.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can you handle my Florida dispute?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who have business or real estate interests in South Florida. The firm handles local court appearances and keeps you informed, so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a dispute over a modest amount?

Often it is worth at least a consultation. A lawyer can tell you whether the claim fits county court or circuit court, whether the contract has a fee provision, and whether a demand letter or mediation could resolve it at a cost that makes sense. The firm looks for resolutions that match the client’s goals and budget.

Can my case move to federal court?

Some can, depending on the parties and the claims. The Southern District of Florida covers Palm Beach and Broward Counties and holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Whether federal or state court is the better forum is a strategic decision the attorneys evaluate at the outset.

Do you work with other attorneys on Florida business matters?

Yes. A significant part of the practice comes from referrals, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes. The firm communicates with referring counsel throughout the matter and respects the referring lawyer’s relationship with the client.

Serving Business Litigation Clients Across Palm Beach County and South Florida

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents clients throughout Palm Beach County, from the Boca Raton and Delray Beach corridor through Boynton Beach, Lantana, and Lake Worth Beach, and north into West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. The firm also serves business owners and property co-owners in Jupiter, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Highland Beach, and Belle Glade, along with the surrounding communities that make up the county’s commercial and residential real estate markets.

Because many disputes cross county lines, the firm’s reach extends into neighboring Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, and the surrounding communities, and throughout South Florida. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses, investment property, or a share of real estate in this region are also a regular part of the firm’s work, whether the dispute involves an LLC, a partnership, a shared property, or a failed commercial transaction.

Speak With a Palm Beach County Business Litigation Lawyer Today

When a partner, co-owner, or counterparty puts your company, your investment, or your property at risk, the decisions made in the first weeks often determine the outcome. The attorneys at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, explain which remedies and deadlines apply, and recommend whether negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or litigation fits your goals. Call to schedule a consultation with a Palm Beach County business litigation lawyer and get a clear read on where you stand.