Broward County Temporary & Permanent Injunction Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, co-owners of real estate, and families in Broward County who need a court to stop something before it becomes irreversible. Our Fort Lauderdale-area clients come to us when a partner is draining accounts, when a property is about to be sold or encumbered out from under them, or when a former insider is using confidential information to hollow out a company. We also serve Palm Beach County and clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold interests in South Florida.

A Broward County temporary and permanent injunction attorney is often retained in a narrow window. Money can be wired offshore in an afternoon. A deed can be recorded in a morning. A customer list can walk out the door on a Friday. An injunction is the tool that freezes the situation in place so the court can decide the underlying dispute without the assets, the property, or the business being gone by the time it does.

Broward cases are heard in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and federal claims in the Southern District of Florida can be filed in Fort Lauderdale. Knowing which forum fits your dispute, and how fast each moves, shapes the whole strategy.

What Separates a Temporary Injunction From a Permanent One

The two forms of relief serve different purposes and come at different points in a case. A temporary injunction is interim relief. It preserves the status quo while the lawsuit proceeds, and it can be sought early, sometimes on an emergency basis before the other side has even been heard in full. A permanent injunction is part of the final outcome. It is entered after the merits are decided and orders a party to do something or stop doing something going forward.

To obtain interim relief, a party generally has to show a likelihood of success on the merits, a threat of irreparable harm that money damages could not repair, that no adequate remedy at law exists, and that the public interest is not disserved. The irreparable harm element is where most motions are won or lost. A court is rarely moved by the argument that you will lose money, because money can usually be awarded later. It is moved by evidence that a unique asset, a business relationship, or a piece of real property will be gone or damaged in a way a judgment cannot undo.

That is why the quality of the supporting record matters so much. Sworn declarations, account statements, emails, recorded documents, and the governing agreements all feed the motion. Our attorneys build that record deliberately, because the judge deciding an injunction motion is making a fast call on a limited presentation.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Injunction Work in Broward County

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, our founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with his 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.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. That state and federal range matters for injunction practice, where the right forum can turn on the claims and the parties involved.

The firm is experienced in obtaining temporary and permanent injunctions, including early and emergency relief, to protect a client’s vital business interests, company assets, and real property while a dispute is pending. We practice as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file and can act when something changes overnight. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy, and we handle the local court appearances for clients who live out of state.

Our results reflect the kind of work injunction cases usually grow into. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We also bring experience in mediation and arbitration, because many injunction fights resolve at the negotiating table once the other side sees the court is taking the request seriously.

Situations Where Broward Business and Property Owners Seek Injunctive Relief

• Diverted Company Funds: A partner, manager, or officer moves money out of company accounts, pays personal expenses from the business, or cannot account for distributions. Courts can order assets preserved and restrict transfers while an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty claims are decided.
• Business Divorce and Deadlock: When co-owners are deadlocked or one side is locking the other out of operations, interim orders can maintain access, bar unilateral changes to ownership or control, and keep the company functioning during a dissolution or buyout fight.
• Disputed Real Property: A co-owner threatens to sell, mortgage, or transfer a property that is the subject of a partition action, title dispute, or purchase contract claim. An order can hold the property in place until ownership is resolved.
• Failed or Threatened Closings: A seller tries to back out of a commercial or residential sale or sell to a different buyer. Where the contract is for unique real estate, courts may enforce it, and interim relief can keep the property from being conveyed in the meantime.
• Breaches of Operating and Shareholder Agreements: An owner violates restrictions on transferring interests, competes in violation of the agreement, or takes action that required consent. Injunctions can compel compliance with the agreement’s actual terms.
• Misuse of Confidential Information: A departing insider takes customer data, pricing, or proprietary materials. Prompt relief can stop further use before the competitive damage spreads.
• Landlord and Tenant Conflicts: Commercial lease disputes sometimes involve lockouts, interference with a tenant’s operations, or threatened loss of possession where timing is critical to the business.

What to Do Right Now if You Need to Stop Something in Broward County

Speed matters, but so does preparation. Start by preserving evidence before anyone realizes you are building a case. Save emails, texts, bank and brokerage statements, recorded deeds, and the agreements that govern the relationship. Do not confront the other side in a way that tips them off to move assets faster. Do not delete anything, and do not access accounts or systems you are not authorized to use.

Gather the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, purchase contract, lease, or loan documents. These define your rights and often contain provisions that matter directly, such as buyout mechanics, deadlock sale procedures, or consent requirements. A deadlock sale provision, for example, can displace a judicial dissolution order if it is properly initiated before the court finds grounds, so the agreement language has to be reviewed early.

Then call us quickly. We will assess whether the facts support interim relief, what harm can honestly be called irreparable, and whether emergency treatment is warranted. In Broward County, civil cases are filed with the Clerk and heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale handling circuit civil matters and regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation serving other divisions. Larger business disputes, including business entity dissolution and significant commercial litigation, may be directed to the circuit’s complex business division, which a case can enter through a specific filing procedure. We handle the filings and appearances.

Mind the deadlines for the underlying claim, because an injunction rides on a lawsuit. A claim on a written contract generally must be brought within five years, while oral or implied contract claims carry four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. A suit seeking specific performance of a contract carries a one-year period, which makes delay especially costly in failed real estate closings. Waiting also undermines an injunction request itself, since a court will question how urgent the harm is if you sat on the problem for months.

How Courts Handle Injunctions in Business Dissolution and Partnership Cases

In judicial dissolution proceedings, Florida courts have tools beyond a simple order to stop. For an LLC, a member or manager can seek dissolution on grounds that include deadlock with threatened irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, and conduct by controlling members that is illegal or fraudulent. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioner’s interest, and it must hold a hearing after notice before appointing a receiver or custodian.

For a corporation, the court overseeing a dissolution proceeding may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian during the case, take other steps to preserve corporate assets, and carry on the business until a full hearing. Shareholders and the corporation also have a statutory route to avoid dissolution by electing to purchase the petitioning shareholder’s shares at fair value, and 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.

These mechanisms are why an injunction in a business divorce is rarely an isolated event. It is usually the first move in a sequence that can end in a negotiated buyout, a structured wind-down, or a court-ordered resolution. We plan with the endpoint in mind, so the interim relief we seek supports the result you actually want.

Common Questions About Injunctions in Broward County

How fast can a court act on an emergency injunction?

Courts can sometimes act within days when the facts show immediate and irreparable harm, and in the most urgent situations a request can be presented before the other side has been fully heard. How fast depends on the judge’s calendar, how well the papers are documented, and how clearly the harm cannot wait. Poorly supported motions are slowed or denied.

What is the difference between a temporary and a permanent injunction?

A temporary injunction preserves the situation while the case is pending. A permanent injunction is entered after the merits are decided and governs the parties’ conduct going forward. Winning the first does not guarantee the second.

Can I get an injunction to stop a business partner from taking money?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds, and in urgent situations a court can order that assets not be moved or spent while the dispute is pending. The strength of your evidence of the diversion drives the outcome.

Is losing money enough to justify an injunction?

Usually not by itself. Courts look for harm that cannot be fixed by a later award of damages, such as loss of unique property, destruction of a business relationship, or the disappearance of assets. Framing the harm accurately is central to the motion.

Can an injunction stop the sale of real estate?

It can in the right circumstances, particularly where a contract for unique real property is being enforced or where ownership is contested in a partition or quiet title case. Courts treat real property as one-of-a-kind, which supports interim relief to keep it from being conveyed.

What happens if the other side ignores the order?

Violating an injunction can lead to contempt proceedings, and the court has authority to enforce its order. We move promptly when an order is violated, because the point of the injunction is that it is obeyed.

Do I have to post a bond to get a temporary injunction?

Florida courts generally require security so the restrained party can be compensated if the injunction turns out to have been wrongly granted. The court sets the amount based on the potential harm to the other side, and we address bond early so it does not surprise you.

Can I seek an injunction if my operating agreement requires arbitration?

Often yes for interim protection, though the agreement’s dispute resolution clause affects where the underlying merits are decided. The arbitration terms have to be read closely, because they can shape both the forum and the timing of any court application.

How does a Broward injunction case connect to a partition or title dispute?

Partition actions are heard in equity, and a co-owner worried about a sale or encumbrance while the case proceeds can ask the court for interim relief. Quiet title and fraud-based title claims may likewise be paired with an order protecting the property in the meantime.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can you handle this without me traveling to Fort Lauderdale?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business and real estate interests in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances, keep you informed at each stage, and schedule calls at times that work for you.

Will pursuing an injunction destroy any chance of settling?

Not necessarily. A credible injunction request often creates the leverage that makes settlement possible, since the other side sees the court may act. We pursue negotiation, mediation, or arbitration alongside litigation when it serves your goals and budget.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for an injunction if the amount at stake seems modest?

If the harm is to a business, a property, or a relationship that cannot be replaced, the dollar figure of any one transaction may understate what is at risk. We will tell you candidly whether the facts justify an application or whether another route makes more sense.

Broward County Injunction Representation Across South Florida

We represent clients throughout Broward County, from Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Pompano Beach to Coral Springs, Plantation, and Sunrise. Our work extends to Deerfield Beach, Davie, Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Oakland Park, Dania Beach, and Hallandale Beach, along with the surrounding communities that make up the county’s business and residential corridors.

Because many Broward disputes have connections to neighboring areas, we also serve clients in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Palm Beach County, and we help owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose business partners or co-owned property are here in South Florida. Whether the matter involves a commercial building in Fort Lauderdale, an investment property in Hollywood, or a company with operations across both counties, our attorneys handle the proceedings and keep you informed.

Speak With a Broward County Injunction Attorney About Your Situation

When assets, property, or a business are at risk and waiting is not an option, a Broward County injunction attorney who can move quickly and build a persuasive record makes the difference. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team has represented clients in business and real estate litigation across South Florida, and we are ready to evaluate whether interim or permanent relief is the right tool for your dispute.

Contact our team today to discuss your case. We answer your call, and if we are in court we return it within 24 hours.