South Florida Business Litigation Attorney

Business disputes in Palm Beach County and Broward County are filed in two different circuit courts, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and the venue you land in shapes everything from the judge’s calendar to whether your case can go into a specialized business division. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that represents owners, investors, and families in disputes throughout South Florida, handling matters in Palm Beach County, Broward County, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.

A South Florida business litigation attorney is usually called when something has already gone wrong: a partner has stopped answering questions about the books, a co-owner is locking you out of decisions, a counterparty has walked away from a signed contract, or money that should be in the company’s account is not. These are not abstract problems. They are time-sensitive, because several of the deadlines that govern business claims in Florida are short, and one of them, for specific performance, is a single year.

Many of our clients do not live here at all. They own a company, a stake in an investment, or a piece of real estate in South Florida while living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, and their disputes are with partners or co-owners who are down here. We handle the Florida side of that fight so you are not flying in for every hearing.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for South Florida Business 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 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, adds years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

The name is literal. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file and can answer when you call. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy for the days when we are in court, and scheduled conference calls are set at times that work for everyone involved. Andrew’s own view, which he shares with clients at the outset, is that people often think they want the most aggressive lawyer available when what they really want is someone who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do. The firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake, and its attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation.

Results at trial matter in this field. After a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm obtained a 32-page final judgment awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Winning specific performance means the court ordered the deal to be carried out rather than leaving the client with a damages check, and it is the kind of result that depends on meticulous preparation around contract language and the parties’ course of dealing. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes, and we keep referring counsel informed throughout.

Types of Business Disputes We Handle Across South Florida

• Business Divorce and Partnership Disputes: Deadlocked management, buyouts, valuation fights, breaches of operating or shareholder agreements, and claims by minority owners who have been shut out. When the relationship cannot be saved, the end point may be a negotiated buyout, a structured wind-down, or judicial dissolution.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, operating agreements, shareholder agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts. These cases often turn on the exact wording of the agreement and the history between the parties.
• Missing Funds and Financial Misconduct: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, disputed capital contributions, commingled accounts, and managers who cannot account for where the money went. Claims include an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company together, parents and children with different visions, and spouses or in-laws who share ownership. The questions are the same as in any ownership fight, control, compensation, and future direction, but they are handled with extra discretion.
• Partition Actions and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate who cannot agree what to do with the property, including former business partners, heirs, unmarried couples, and investors who want out. We also bring and defend quiet title actions to clear competing ownership claims.
• Real Estate Litigation: Failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, and landlord and tenant matters involving commercial and residential property.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions, including early relief, to keep assets, property, or business interests from being moved, spent, or destroyed while the case is pending.
• Outside General Counsel: Ongoing contract, compliance, and operational advice, with the firm serving as the company’s registered agent, so problems get addressed before they become lawsuits.

What to Do Right Now if a Business Dispute Is Developing

Start with the clock. Florida gives you five years to sue on a contract founded on a written instrument, and four years for an oral or implied contract. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. Rescission has a four-year period. A negligence claim now has only two years after the 2023 change, and a non-medical professional malpractice claim has a two-year period that runs from when you discovered, or with diligence should have discovered, the problem. The shortest of all is specific performance, which must be brought within one year. If you are weighing whether to “wait and see” whether a partner makes things right, know that the wait may be eating a deadline.

Next, gather paper before the other side controls it. Pull the operating agreement or shareholder agreement and every amendment, the purchase or lease documents, bank and credit card statements, tax returns, capital contribution records, and any emails or texts in which the problem was discussed or admitted. If you hold a minority interest, request the company’s books in writing, and keep a copy of the request. Do not delete anything, even material you think hurts you, and do not move company funds in retaliation, because a court will treat that conduct as evidence against you.

If you believe money or property is being moved right now, that is the moment to talk to counsel about emergency relief rather than a demand letter. Courts can issue injunctions and, in dissolution cases, appoint a receiver or custodian, but only after a hearing with notice to the parties, so the earlier the facts are assembled, the better the application.

Where your case is filed depends on where the dispute and the parties are. Palm Beach County cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach and branch courthouses serving Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade. Broward County cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, in Fort Lauderdale and at regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Claims above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, and the Seventeenth Circuit has a complex business division that handles large business and construction litigation and certain business dissolutions, which can be reached by direct filing under its administrative order. Some disputes belong in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach among other cities. Choosing the right forum early saves months.

Finally, resist the urge to negotiate on your own with a lawyer on the other side whose job is to keep you talking. A short consultation to map out the claims, the deadlines, and the realistic outcomes costs far less than a mistaken admission in an email.

Dissolution, Buyouts, and Partition: How Florida Courts Untangle Ownership

When co-owners cannot continue together, Florida law gives courts real tools. For an LLC, a member or manager can seek judicial dissolution on grounds including that the company’s affairs are being conducted unlawfully, that it is not reasonably practicable to carry on in line with the articles and operating agreement, that those in control have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, that assets are being misappropriated or wasted to the company’s injury, or that managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened or occurring. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court can appoint a receiver or custodian, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving. Your operating agreement matters here: if it contains a deadlock sale provision that is started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that contractual mechanism controls in place of a dissolution order.

Corporations follow a parallel track. A shareholder can petition for judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, including that the corporation has abandoned its business and failed to liquidate within a reasonable time. Dissolution is not always the end result, because the corporation, or one or more other shareholders, can elect to buy 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, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set aside or modify it. Within 30 days after the proceeding begins, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they may avoid dissolution by electing to buy. During the case, the court can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take steps to preserve assets.

Partition is the real estate version of the same problem. All partition actions are in the equity side of the circuit court. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree. If the commissioners report that dividing the land would prejudice the owners, the court may order a sale at public auction, with proceeds divided according to ownership interests. Where a sale is allowed on credit for good cause, at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise. Inherited property gets special treatment: Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to heirs property, and a partition in kind will not be entered unless the court is satisfied the commissioners weighed the statutory factors and found that division would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Quiet title actions clear competing claims. Any person or entity claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to determine title and remove a cloud created by a conveyance or other claimed evidence of title. The suit may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and the plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. Adverse possession, which sometimes sits behind these disputes, requires seven years of continuous possession, and a claim under color of title does not qualify until the instrument is recorded with the clerk in the county where the property sits.

Questions About Hiring a South Florida Business Litigation Attorney

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether they are partners, LLC members, or shareholders. It can end in a negotiated buyout, a sale of the business, a structured wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution when the owners cannot agree.

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

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies when a member has engaged in serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. Reviewing the agreement is the first 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. In urgent situations a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the dispute is pending.

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

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument and four years for an oral or implied contract. Specific performance claims have a one-year period, so a case where you want the deal completed rather than damages is far more urgent.

Does every business dispute have to go to court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The right path depends on your goals, your agreement’s dispute clause, and how much leverage each side has.

Which court will hear my case, Palm Beach or Broward?

Generally the county where the dispute arose or where the defendant is located. Palm Beach County matters go to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and Broward County matters to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Real property cases are typically filed where the land sits, and quiet title actions may be filed in any county where part of the land lies.

Is there a dollar threshold that decides whether I am in county court or circuit court?

Yes. County court handles mid-sized civil claims up to a ceiling that is adjusted periodically, and small claims sit below that. Larger disputes belong in circuit court, which also hears equitable matters such as dissolution, partition, quiet title, and injunctions regardless of the amount.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Will I have to travel for hearings?

Generally not for routine matters. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed at every stage, so you can protect your South Florida interests without making the trip for each proceeding.

My operating agreement has a deadlock or buyout clause. Do I still need a court?

Often the clause is your fastest route, and in some circumstances it overrides a judicial dissolution order if the mechanism is triggered before the court finds deadlock grounds. We read the clause closely, because a poorly drafted one can be ambiguous or tilted toward one side.

Can a shareholder buy me out instead of the company being dissolved?

Yes, in a corporate dissolution case. The corporation or other shareholders can elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and if the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days, the court enters an order on those terms. Valuation is often where the real fight happens.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if I just need a general counsel relationship rather than a lawsuit?

For many companies, yes. Through our outside general counsel program the firm acts as registered agent and handles the contract, compliance, and operational questions that arise day to day. Having a litigator involved before a dispute starts often keeps a disagreement from turning into a lawsuit.

Do you work with other attorneys on referred cases?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from other lawyers, including out of state attorneys with clients who have Florida disputes and Florida attorneys who do not handle business litigation. We respect the referring lawyer’s relationship with the client and communicate throughout.

Business Litigation Representation Across South Florida

Our work centers on Palm Beach County and Broward County. In Palm Beach County we represent owners and investors in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade, among other communities. In Broward County, our clients are in Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, Hollywood, Davie, Sunrise, Weston, and nearby cities.

Across both counties the pattern is similar: closely held companies, family-run operations, investment properties held by several owners, and commercial leases and construction contracts that sour. We also serve clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose business partners or co-owners are here, and we appear in the state circuit courts in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale as well as in matters that belong in federal court.

Speak With a South Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Today

When a business dispute puts your company, your investment, or your property at risk, the decisions you make in the first few weeks matter. A conversation with a South Florida business litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can tell you which deadlines apply, which forum fits, and whether the better outcome is a negotiated buyout, mediation, or a courtroom fight.

Call us to schedule a consultation. We return calls within 24 hours, and we can set up a conference call at a time that works for you wherever you are.