Broward County Partnership Dispute Attorney

A partnership dispute in Broward County rarely stays confined to the two or three people who disagree; it spreads to the bank account, the employees, the lease, and sometimes the title to the building the business operates from. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Broward County partnership dispute matters for business owners, LLC members, shareholders, and investors, and the firm also serves Palm Beach County and clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida.

What readers searching this topic usually want to know is whether they can leave, force someone else out, or stop money from disappearing while the fight plays out. Florida law gives real answers to each of those questions, but the answer depends on what kind of entity you own, what your governing documents say, and whether the other side is simply difficult or is actively moving assets. A deadlock between two fifty percent owners is a different problem from a minority member who suspects a manager is paying personal expenses out of company funds, and the remedies differ accordingly.

The firm’s work in this area covers the full range of owner-versus-owner conflict: buyouts, valuation fights, breaches of operating and shareholder agreements, breach of fiduciary duty, accountings, emergency injunctions, and judicial dissolution when the relationship cannot be repaired.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Broward County Partnership Dispute

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 between 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. Joining him is Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, which in practical terms means everyone working on your matter knows the file. When you call, someone who can actually answer your question picks up, and the firm keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Partnership disputes generate urgent questions at odd moments, such as a locked-out partner, a frozen account, or a demand letter, and that kind of access matters.

The firm’s results include a recent commercial real estate matter in which, after a five-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome reflects the kind of detailed, document-driven trial work that partnership cases demand, where the precise wording of an agreement and the history between the parties often decide the result.

Mr. Schwartz is candid that clients often arrive wanting the most aggressive lawyer available, when what they actually need is a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget. A significant share of the firm’s practice also comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have disputes here, and the firm handles local court appearances so out of state clients do not need to travel for every hearing.

Types of Partnership and Co-Owner Disputes We Handle

• Deadlocked Management: Two equal owners who cannot agree on a decision can freeze a company entirely. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a member or manager may seek judicial dissolution when owners are deadlocked, cannot break the deadlock, and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. Some operating agreements contain their own deadlock sale mechanism, and if one is started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that contractual process generally takes priority.
• Buyouts and Valuation Fights: When one owner wants out, the hard question is price. Disputes center on fair value, discounts for minority or non-marketable interests, and which financial records to trust. In corporate dissolution cases, Florida allows the company or other shareholders to elect to buy out a petitioning shareholder at fair value, and in LLC cases the court may order a purchase of a petitioning member’s interest.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: These cases turn on the exact language: capital call provisions, transfer restrictions, non-compete clauses, distribution rules, and approval thresholds for major decisions.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Managers and controlling owners owe duties to the company and, in many circumstances, to the other owners. Self-dealing, usurping business opportunities, and favoring one owner’s side ventures are common allegations.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, undocumented withdrawals, and disputed capital contributions often require a forensic look at the books and a claim for an accounting. Florida’s LLC statute recognizes misappropriation or waste of assets, causing injury, as a ground for dissolution.
• Minority Owner Squeeze-Outs: A majority group that cuts a minority partner out of management, stops distributions, or dilutes ownership may be exposing itself to fiduciary and contract claims.
• Family and Friend Partnerships: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with competing visions, and spouses or in-laws holding shares all present control and compensation questions with personal weight attached.
• Shared Real Estate Between Former Partners: When a partnership owns or co-owns property, the dispute can extend to partition and title claims, covered further below.

What to Do Right Now if Your Partnership Is Falling Apart

Start by getting your hands on the governing documents: the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, articles of organization or incorporation, and any amendments. These documents control more than most owners expect, including whether you have buyout rights, whether disputes must go to mediation or arbitration first, whether the agreement has a deadlock sale mechanism, and who pays attorney’s fees if litigation follows. If you cannot locate a signed copy, tell your attorney immediately, since the absence of a written agreement changes both the legal framework and the deadlines that apply.

Next, preserve financial evidence before access becomes contested. Gather tax returns, K-1s, bank statements, general ledgers, loan documents, and payroll records. If you still have legitimate access to company accounting software or bank portals, document what you are entitled to see, but do not log into systems you have been formally cut off from or take originals that belong to the company. Your lawyer can advise on what you may lawfully copy and on how to demand books and records through proper channels.

Pay attention to time limits. In Florida, an action founded on a written instrument generally must be filed within five years, while claims on oral or implied contracts get four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of twelve years, and an action to rescind a contract has four years. A claim to enforce a contract through specific performance carries a one-year period, which is one of the shortest in the statute and one that owners sometimes overlook. Professional malpractice claims against, for example, an accountant or lawyer who advised the company run two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Determining when each clock started is a fact-heavy exercise, so do not assume you have the full period.

If money is actively leaving the business, urgency changes the strategy. Florida courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions and, in dissolution proceedings, can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, or take other steps to preserve company assets while the case is pending. The firm regularly seeks early and emergency injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent. Avoid retaliating in kind, since draining an account or locking someone out in response can hand the other side a counterclaim and undercut your credibility with the judge.

On the courts themselves, Broward County cases are heard in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Civil circuit matters are handled at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, and the circuit also operates regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. The Seventeenth Circuit maintains a complex business division that handles matters such as dissolution of certain business entities and large business litigation, and a qualifying case can be filed directly into that division under the circuit’s administrative order. Disputes with the right jurisdictional footing can also land in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Which forum applies depends on the claims and the parties, and choosing correctly early saves time and expense.

Dissolution, Buyouts, and Court-Ordered Remedies in Florida

When a partnership cannot be repaired, Florida’s statutes provide structured exits. For LLCs, a manager or member may ask the circuit court to dissolve the company on several grounds: conduct of the company’s affairs unlawfully, impracticability of carrying on the business in line with the articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury, or deadlock with irreparable injury. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioner’s interest, and a hearing with notice to the parties must come first.

Corporations have their own track. A shareholder may petition for dissolution on statutory grounds, including that the corporation has abandoned its business and failed within a reasonable time to liquidate, distribute assets, and dissolve. Once a proceeding on certain grounds begins, the corporation has thirty days to 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 sixty days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. The court can also issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other protective action during the proceeding. Importantly, filing for judicial dissolution does not strip a shareholder of any right to start a deadlock sale provision found in a compliant shareholder agreement.

Dissolution is often a lever as much as a destination. Many of these cases settle once a court-supervised sale or buyout becomes a realistic prospect, and the firm uses mediation and negotiated buyouts where they serve the client’s goals.

When the Partnership Also Owns Real Estate: Partition and Title Issues

Business partners frequently hold property together, and a breakup leaves them as co-owners of an asset neither wants to manage jointly. Florida’s partition statutes allow a co-owner to ask the circuit court, sitting in equity, to divide the property or, when division would prejudice the owners, to order a sale at public auction with the proceeds shared in proportion to ownership. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the property can be divided fairly. Where the court allows a sale on credit for good cause, at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless all parties consent otherwise.

Where title itself is contested, a quiet title action asks the court to determine ownership and remove clouds on title. Florida law allows these suits to be filed in any county where part of the land sits and generally requires the plaintiff to trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. Heirs property, which includes land held among relatives who inherited it, is governed by a separate set of rules that can change how a partition proceeds. The firm handles partition and title disputes alongside its partnership work, which is useful when a business divorce and a property dispute are really the same fight.

Common Questions About Broward County Partnership Disputes

What counts as a partnership dispute?

The term covers conflicts among co-owners of any business entity, including general partners, LLC members, and corporate shareholders. Typical triggers include disagreements over control, profit splits, capital contributions, compensation, suspected self-dealing, and a desire by one or more owners to exit.

Can I force a partner out of my Florida LLC?

It depends on the operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements include expulsion, dissociation, or buyout provisions. Where the agreement is silent or inadequate, Florida law provides remedies when a member has engaged in serious misconduct or the company can no longer function, but a court will look closely at the evidence.

What can I do if my partner is taking company money?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. If assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can issue injunctive relief and, in a dissolution case, appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing.

How long do I have to file a claim over a broken partnership agreement?

For claims founded on a written agreement, the general period is five years. Claims based on oral or implied agreements get four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery with a twelve-year outer limit. Specific performance claims carry just one year. The start date of each period can be contested, so get advice early.

Do we have to go to court, or can this be settled?

Many partnership disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require those steps before any lawsuit. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and trial work, and they pursue the path most likely to meet the client’s goals efficiently.

What does a Florida court look at when valuing my ownership share?

Fair value disputes turn on financial records, the nature of the business, and the valuation method. In corporate buyout proceedings, Florida law uses a fair value standard. Parties commonly retain valuation experts, and disagreements over discounts for minority or non-marketable interests are a frequent point of contention.

My operating agreement has a deadlock sale clause. Does that replace a court dissolution?

Under Florida’s LLC statute, a deadlock sale provision that is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds applies instead of a judicial dissolution order or a court-ordered purchase, as long as it is then carried through. Timing and compliance with the clause’s terms matter, so review it before filing anything.

What if the dispute is with a family member who co-owns the business?

The legal framework is the same, but the handling differs. These cases call for discretion and often benefit from mediation, though the client’s financial interests still need full protection. The firm regularly represents siblings, parents and children, and in-laws who share ownership.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can I handle this without moving to Florida?

Generally yes. The firm represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida business or property interests, handles the local court appearances, and keeps clients informed so they do not need to travel for every proceeding.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if I just want a quiet buyout?

Often yes, because the terms of a buyout, including price, payment structure, releases, and non-compete obligations, carry long-term consequences. Even a cooperative separation benefits from careful documentation, and an early consultation can clarify what leverage each side really has.

Can a partnership dispute affect real estate the business owns?

It can. If the business or the owners individually hold property together, a breakup may involve partition or quiet title claims. Florida courts handle partition in equity and can order a sale and division of proceeds when dividing the land fairly is not practical.

Serving Partnership Dispute Clients Throughout Broward County and South Florida

The firm represents owners across Broward County, from Fort Lauderdale and its neighborhoods along the Intracoastal Waterway through Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, and Coral Springs in the north county. Clients also come from Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, and Pembroke Pines to the south, and from Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Weston, Cooper City, and Miramar in the western and central parts of the county. Tamarac, Lauderhill, Margate, Coconut Creek, and Parkland round out the communities where partnership and co-owner disputes arise, many of them tied to small professional practices, restaurants, construction and trade companies, and investment real estate.

The firm also serves neighboring Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, and Boynton Beach, and it represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose business partners or co-owners are in South Florida. Whether the case belongs in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward or in a neighboring venue, the team handles the proceedings so clients can focus on their businesses.

Talk With a Broward County Partnership Dispute Lawyer

When owners cannot agree and the company’s money, property, or future is at stake, early guidance shapes everything that follows. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of South Florida litigation experience to each matter, with a team that knows your file and returns calls within 24 hours. Contact the firm to speak with a Broward County partnership dispute lawyer about your situation and the options available to you.