Boca Raton Breach of Contract Attorney

The deadline to sue over a broken contract in Florida depends on how the contract was formed, and that single fact shapes every strategic decision that follows. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that handles Boca Raton breach of contract attorney matters for companies, investors, and individuals throughout Palm Beach County, Broward County, and the rest of South Florida.

A breach of contract case looks simple in a sentence: one side promised something, did not deliver, and the other side lost money or opportunity. In practice, the outcome usually turns on small things. The exact wording of a payment clause, a notice requirement that was never followed, a series of emails that arguably changed the deal, or a dispute about whether the breach was serious enough to excuse the other party from performing at all. Cases in this area are won and lost on documents and on the history between the parties, which is why preparation matters long before anyone files a complaint.

Contract disputes in the Boca Raton market tend to involve commercial leases, purchase and sale agreements for real estate, operating and shareholder agreements, loan documents, construction contracts, and the sale of closely held businesses. Many involve out-of-state owners with money tied up in South Florida property or companies, and many involve parties who were once partners and now barely speak.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Contract 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 contract enforcement and interpretation at the center of his work for that entire span. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That federal experience matters in contract work, because disputes between parties in different states can end up in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach among other places.

The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and it looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

The firm’s trial work includes a recent result in a commercial real estate contract case. After a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of outcome, a court ordering the other side to actually perform rather than simply pay damages, reflects the careful document-level preparation that contract litigation demands.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle in South Florida

• Purchase and Sale Agreement Disputes: Failed closings on commercial and residential property, disagreements over deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and cases where a buyer or seller refuses to close and the other side wants the property, not just money.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreement Breaches: Claims that a partner, LLC member, or shareholder violated buyout terms, voting provisions, non-compete clauses, capital contribution duties, or distribution rules written into the governing documents.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Unpaid rent, improper termination, build-out and improvement obligations, personal guaranties, and disagreements over common area charges between landlords and business tenants.
• Loan and Financing Agreement Defaults: Disputes between lenders and borrowers, private investor loans, guaranties, and claims over whether a default was actually triggered under the loan documents.
• Construction Contract Claims: Nonpayment, defective or incomplete work, change order disputes, and delay claims between owners, contractors, and subcontractors.
• Business Sale and Purchase Agreements: Disputes over representations and warranties, earn-out payments, undisclosed liabilities, and post-closing obligations when a company changes hands.
• Unpaid Distributions and Diverted Funds: Contract and fiduciary claims when money owed to an owner was withheld, moved, or cannot be accounted for, often paired with a request for an accounting.
• Partner and Family Business Agreements: Breaches of buy-sell and compensation arrangements among siblings, parents and children, spouses, and long-time friends who built a company together.

What to Do Once You Believe a Contract Has Been Breached

Start by getting the full paper trail in one place. That means the signed agreement and every amendment, the emails and text messages around the negotiation and performance, invoices, payment records, bank statements, and any notices sent or received. Courts read contracts closely and also look at how the parties actually behaved, so a clean chronology is worth a great deal. Do not delete anything, even material that seems unhelpful, and avoid writing new messages to the other side that characterize the dispute loosely, since those can be quoted back to you later.

Next, read the contract for its own mechanics before you do anything else. Many agreements require written notice of default, a cure period, or mediation or arbitration before a lawsuit can be filed. Others contain a venue clause, a governing law clause, or a provision shifting attorney fees to the winner. Missing a notice step or filing in the wrong forum can hand the other side an early defense. An attorney reviewing the document at this stage can often tell you which clauses help and which will be used against you.

Pay attention to the filing deadline. Under Florida law, a lawsuit on a contract founded on a written instrument must generally be brought within five years. A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years. Claims for rescission also carry four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of twelve years. A claim for specific performance is the outlier, with a one-year period, which is why a failed real estate closing can become urgent quickly. The 2023 changes that shortened the negligence deadline to two years did not change the five-year written-contract period, but a claim that is really a professional malpractice claim dressed up as a contract claim can face a two-year clock, so how the claim is characterized matters.

Where the case is filed depends largely on the amount at stake. Claims over $50,000 belong in circuit court, while claims between $8,000.01 and $50,000 go to county court, and smaller claims fall under small claims procedure. Boca Raton sits in Palm Beach County, which is served by the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach and a south county courthouse in Delray Beach. If the defendant, the property, or the contract performance is in Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Fort Lauderdale may be the proper court, and that circuit operates a complex business division for large commercial disputes. When the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy is large enough, the case may belong in federal court instead.

If money is actively disappearing or an asset is about to be sold or transferred, the situation may call for emergency relief rather than a standard lawsuit. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to freeze the status quo while the case proceeds, and the firm regularly seeks that relief when a client’s property or company assets are at risk.

Remedies Available: Damages, Specific Performance, and Beyond

Most people assume a breach of contract case ends in a check. Money damages are the default remedy, and they are generally intended to put the injured party where they would have been had the contract been performed. That can include the direct loss, and in some cases lost profits that can be proven with reasonable certainty. Damages that are speculative or that the breaching party could not have foreseen are harder to recover, and the other side will almost always argue that the injured party failed to mitigate its losses.

Where money cannot fix the problem, a court sitting in equity may order specific performance, compelling the other side to do what the contract required. This is most common with real property, since every parcel is unique, and it is the remedy the firm obtained after trial in its recent Broward County commercial real estate case. Because the limitations period for specific performance is short, a buyer or seller who wants the deal enforced rather than abandoned needs to move quickly.

Other remedies include rescission, which unwinds the deal and returns the parties to their original positions, and an accounting, which forces a partner or manager to document where company money went. Many contracts also include attorney fee provisions, and whether one exists can change the economics of a case dramatically, since it may let the winning side recover fees from the loser. Before filing, a realistic evaluation should weigh the likely recovery, the collectability of a judgment, the cost of litigating through trial, and the value of a negotiated or mediated resolution.

Breach of Contract FAQs for Boca Raton Businesses and Property Owners

What counts as a breach of contract in Florida?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform a duty the contract required, without a legal excuse. Generally, a plaintiff must show a valid contract, a material breach, and damages caused by that breach. Whether the breach is material enough to excuse the other party’s own performance is often the central fight.

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

For a written contract, Florida allows five years. For an oral or implied contract, the period is four years. Rescission claims carry four years, fraud claims run four years from discovery with a twelve-year cap, and specific performance claims carry one year. The right deadline depends on how your claim is framed, so confirm it early.

Does an oral agreement count as a contract?

Often yes, but proving its terms is harder. Certain agreements, including many involving real property, generally need to be in writing to be enforceable. Emails, texts, invoices, and payment history can all help establish an oral deal or show how a written one was modified.

Can I get the other side to actually perform instead of just paying me?

Sometimes. Specific performance is available when money damages are inadequate, which is common in real estate transactions. It is a discretionary equitable remedy with a one-year limitations period, so it needs prompt attention.

Which court will hear my case?

Claims above $50,000 are heard in circuit court, claims between $8,000.01 and $50,000 in county court, and claims up to $8,000 in small claims. Cases connected to Boca Raton typically proceed in Palm Beach County’s Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, though the contract’s venue clause, the defendant’s location, or the parties’ states of residence can point to Broward County or federal court.

My contract has an arbitration clause. Can I still go to court?

Usually the clause will be enforced, and a court may send the dispute to arbitration and pause or dismiss the lawsuit. Arbitration can be faster and more private, but it limits appeals and discovery. An attorney should review the clause’s scope, any required pre-suit steps, and the rules it adopts.

What if the other side says I breached first?

That is a common defense and often leads to counterclaims. Courts look at which breach came first and which was material. Careful records of your own performance, payments, and notices are the best protection against that argument.

Can I recover attorney fees if I win?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause. Because these provisions can cut both ways, check yours before deciding whether to sue or settle.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Do I have to travel to Florida for every hearing?

No. The firm regularly represents out-of-state clients with South Florida business or real estate interests, handles the local court appearances, and keeps clients informed at each stage so they do not need to be present for every proceeding.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the amount is modest?

It depends on the contract, the evidence, and whether fees are recoverable. For smaller disputes, a demand letter or mediation can resolve the matter at a fraction of litigation cost. A short consultation can tell you whether a claim is worth pursuing and by what route.

Can a contract dispute with a business partner also involve fiduciary duty claims?

Yes. When the dispute involves a partner, LLC member, or manager who controls company money, a contract claim is often paired with claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, and recovery of diverted funds. Pleading them together can broaden the remedies available.

Serving Breach of Contract Clients in Boca Raton and Across South Florida

From Boca Raton, the firm represents clients in the surrounding Palm Beach County communities of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lantana, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Riviera Beach. Moving south into Broward County, the firm handles contract disputes for clients in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Parkland, Margate, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Plantation.

Many of these matters involve owners who live elsewhere. The firm regularly works with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business interests, investment property, or a share of real estate in South Florida, and with attorneys in those states and in Florida who refer matters that fall outside their own practice. Whether the dispute is headed for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, the Southern District of Florida, or mediation and arbitration, the work is handled by a team that knows the file.

Talk With a Boca Raton Breach of Contract Lawyer Before the Deadline Passes

Contract claims reward early attention. Evidence is freshest, notice and cure provisions can still be satisfied, and shorter deadlines such as the one-year period for specific performance have not yet run. If you are weighing a claim, or defending one, a conversation with a Boca Raton breach of contract lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify your position, your options, and a realistic path forward.

Call the firm to schedule a consultation. The team will review your agreement and the surrounding facts, explain where you stand, and recommend the approach most likely to serve your goals and your budget.