Broward County Business Divorce Attorney

Ending a business partnership well means getting out with your investment, your reputation, and your remaining relationships as intact as possible, or staying in with control and a fair share of the profits. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents partners, LLC members, shareholders, and minority owners in Broward County, helping them reach a buyout, a sale, a structured wind-down, or a court-ordered resolution when co-owners cannot agree on what comes next.

A Broward County business divorce attorney spends much of the work on questions that never come up in a normal lawsuit. Who actually controls the company? Is a deadlocked vote a reason to dissolve or just a bad quarter? What is a minority stake worth when the majority owner sets the salaries? Our firm handles Business Transactions & Litigation, Partnership Disputes & Corporate Dissolution, and Temporary & Permanent Injunctions for owners in Fort Lauderdale and throughout the county, and we also serve clients in Palm Beach County and from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida.

The legal tools differ depending on how the company is organized. An LLC dispute runs through Chapter 605 and the operating agreement. A corporation’s shareholder dispute runs through Chapter 607 and any shareholder agreement. A general partnership has its own rules. Knowing which framework governs your company, and what your own agreement already says, is the first thing we sort out.

What Florida Law Lets a Court Do When Owners Cannot Agree

Judicial dissolution is the remedy most people have heard of, but courts do not grant it simply because owners dislike each other. For an LLC, a member or manager can ask the circuit court to dissolve the company on specific grounds: the company’s activities are being conducted unlawfully; it is not reasonably practicable to operate in line with the articles and operating agreement; controlling managers or members have acted, are acting, or are reasonably expected to act illegally or fraudulently; company assets are being misappropriated or wasted in a way that causes injury; or the managers or members are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and the company faces irreparable injury.

Corporations have a parallel statute. A shareholder can petition for dissolution or another remedy on grounds that include abandonment of the business with a failure to liquidate within a reasonable time. Within 30 days after a shareholder files that kind of proceeding, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they can avoid dissolution 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 is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. An election to purchase is generally irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it.

In both settings the court has tools short of dissolution. Once a petition shows sufficient merit, the judge can appoint a receiver or custodian, but only after notice and a hearing. The court can also order the company or other owners to purchase the petitioner’s interest rather than shutting the business down. For a corporation, the court may issue injunctions, preserve assets, and keep the business running until a full hearing.

One point catches people off guard: a deadlock sale provision in your operating or shareholder agreement can take priority over a court-ordered dissolution if it is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds and is then carried through. Filing suit does not necessarily extinguish your right to trigger a buy-sell mechanism the agreement already provides, and in some situations the better move is to use that mechanism rather than litigate.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Broward Business Divorce

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida. Andrew M. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts, which matters when a dispute may land in either forum.

Calls get answered, and when we are in court, a strict 24 hour return call policy applies. Andrew’s view, shaped over decades, is that clients 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. We look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget, and our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation.

The firm’s work in Broward County courts includes a 5-day bench trial that ended in a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That result involved a different kind of dispute than a partnership split, but the discipline it demanded is the same one a business divorce requires: building a record from the agreement’s exact wording and the parties’ course of dealing, and trying the case when negotiation fails. A significant part of our practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out-of-state counsel whose clients have Florida disputes.

Situations We Handle Within a Broward Business Divorce

• Deadlocked Management: Two 50/50 owners, or an even-numbered board, cannot agree on a lease renewal, a major hire, or whether to sell. Florida’s LLC statute recognizes unbreakable deadlock with threatened irreparable injury as a ground for dissolution, and any deadlock sale clause in your agreement may control the outcome.
• Buyouts and Valuation Fights: One owner wants out, or wants the other out, and the number is the problem. Minority discounts, goodwill, owner compensation, and the date of valuation are common flashpoints, and the fair value standard in a corporate buyout election makes these arguments central.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: Missed capital calls, ignored consent requirements, unauthorized related-party deals, and violated non-compete or transfer restrictions. These cases turn on precise contract language.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: A manager or majority owner who self-deals, freezes out a minority owner, or diverts opportunities. Claims can include an accounting and recovery of what was taken.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, disputed capital contributions, and partners who cannot account for company money. Where assets are at risk of being moved, we seek emergency injunctive relief.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions for it, or spouses and in-laws with shared ownership. These cases need discretion alongside firm protection of your financial position.
• Shared Real Estate Held by the Business: Former partners left co-owning a building or parcel often need a partition action or a title resolution alongside the company dispute.
• Judicial Dissolution and Wind-Down: When separation is the only workable outcome, a negotiated wind-down or court-supervised dissolution distributes assets and ends the entity cleanly.

What to Do in the Weeks After a Partnership Breaks Down

Start by collecting the governing documents: the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, articles, any amendments, buy-sell agreements, loan guarantees, and the company’s tax returns and financial statements. Whether your agreement requires mediation or arbitration before suit, sets a buyout formula, or contains a deadlock sale clause often determines the first move. Do not assume the court is your only route, and do not assume it is off the table.

Preserve evidence quietly and lawfully. Keep copies of financial records you are entitled to see, save relevant emails and texts, and note when you first noticed money missing or decisions made without you. Avoid deleting anything, locking co-owners out of systems without advice, or moving company funds on your own. Those moves can hand the other side a claim against you.

Watch the clock. Florida sets the limitations period for an action on a written contract at five years, and for oral or implied contracts at four. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery, with an outer cap of 12 years. A specific performance action carries just one year. Which period applies depends on how the claim is framed, so do not wait to find out.

Business disputes in the county are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Larger cases are heard in circuit court, with county court limited to smaller claims. The circuit also operates complex business divisions that handle, among other things, dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, and a case can be filed directly into those divisions through a designated form submitted with the Clerk at filing; the Clerk then randomly assigns it to a division. Central filings go through the Broward Clerk in Fort Lauderdale, and regional courthouses operate in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. If the claims or parties bring the case into federal court, the Southern District of Florida holds court in Fort Lauderdale as well as Miami and West Palm Beach.

Finally, talk to a lawyer before you confront your partner. What you say, sign, or propose in the first heated conversation can shape the whole negotiation. Often the best early step is a candid review of the agreement, a realistic look at leverage, and a decision about whether to pursue a buyout, mediation, or emergency relief.

Broward County Business Divorce: Your Questions Answered

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether 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 my partner out of an LLC in Florida?

It depends on your operating agreement and what your partner did. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida’s LLC statute offers court remedies for serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. We review the agreement first, then explain which routes are realistic.

Does my partner have to agree to dissolve the company?

Not always. If the operating agreement or shareholder agreement does not give you a path out, a court can dissolve an LLC on specific statutory grounds such as deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriation of assets, or illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control. For a corporation, a shareholder can seek dissolution or another remedy on listed grounds.

What happens if the other owners want to buy me out instead of dissolving?

In a corporate dissolution proceeding, the corporation or other shareholders can elect 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 orders the purchase on those terms. If not, the court determines value. An LLC court can also order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

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 money is actively leaving, a court can issue injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Does every business divorce end up in court?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and your agreement may require one of those first. Our attorneys have experience in all of them and pursue the path most likely to meet your goals efficiently.

Can a court appoint someone to run the company while we fight?

Yes. After notice and a hearing, a court can appoint a receiver or custodian for an LLC once a petition shows sufficient merit. In a corporate dissolution proceeding, the court can also issue injunctions, preserve assets, and keep the business operating until a full hearing.

My operating agreement has a buy-sell or deadlock clause. Does that change things?

Often significantly. A deadlock sale provision initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds can apply instead of judicial dissolution, provided it is carried through. Filing for dissolution on certain grounds does not necessarily cancel your right to trigger such a clause in a corporation either.

How long do I have to bring a claim against a former partner?

It depends on the claim. A written-contract claim has a five-year period, an oral or implied contract claim has four, fraud has four years from discovery with a 12-year cap, and a specific performance action has one year. Because the claim type controls the deadline, get an early assessment.

I live in New York or New Jersey but my business partner and company are in Broward. Can you handle this?

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

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my company is small?

Often yes, because small companies usually have thin governance documents and one owner holding the books. Early advice can sometimes resolve a dispute before it becomes litigation, and a litigator’s help before a conflict hardens is one reason many businesses use our outside general counsel program.

What if the dispute also involves real estate the business owns?

That is common. Florida law lets co-owners ask the court for partition, by dividing the property or ordering its sale, and we also handle title disputes and quiet title actions. Resolving the real estate often has to happen alongside the company dispute.

Serving Business Divorce Clients Across Broward County

Our work begins in Fort Lauderdale and extends across Broward County, from Coral Springs, Parkland, and Coconut Creek in the north through Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Lighthouse Point along the coast. We represent owners in Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Lauderhill, and Margate, as well as in Davie, Weston, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, and Cooper City in the western and southwestern parts of the county. Business owners in Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, and Oakland Park also call on our team.

Because many Broward companies have partners, properties, or investors across the county line, we also serve clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. Whether your company operates out of a Fort Lauderdale office, a Deerfield Beach warehouse, or a Weston professional suite, and whether you live locally or in the New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut area, we handle the dispute and the court appearances in South Florida.

Talk to a Broward County Business Divorce Lawyer Before the Dispute Hardens

When owners stop agreeing, the options narrow quickly and leverage shifts to whoever acts first with a clear plan. If you are weighing a buyout, a dissolution, or an emergency motion to protect company assets, a conversation with a Broward County business divorce lawyer can show you where you stand and what to do next. Contact the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to discuss your situation. We will review your agreement, explain your realistic paths, and respond within our 24 hour return call policy if we are in court when you call.