Dania Beach Business Transactions Attorney

A business deal that closes in Dania Beach is governed by Broward County law, and if it goes wrong, the dispute lands in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit rather than anywhere else in South Florida. That matters long before anyone is thinking about a lawsuit, because the way a purchase agreement, operating agreement, or lease is written determines which claims exist later and how quickly they expire. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team works with a Dania Beach business transactions attorney approach to this problem: we handle business transactions and litigation, real estate transactions and litigation, and outside general counsel work for owners and investors in Dania Beach, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.

Dania Beach is a working commercial community. Marine businesses, restaurants, warehouse and light industrial users, hospitality operators, and investors holding property near the airport and the beach corridor all do deals here. Those deals tend to share a few features: a buyer or seller who is also a co-owner, a lease or contract with real money attached to it, and documents that were drafted fast because the parties trusted each other. When trust breaks down, the paper is all that is left.

For that reason, the most valuable legal work on a transaction usually happens before signing. An agreement that says exactly who contributes what, how decisions get made, what happens on a deadlock, and how an owner exits will resolve most future arguments without a courtroom. An agreement that is vague on those points becomes the centerpiece of a lawsuit.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Transactions Work

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in business and real estate matters across Broward County, Palm Beach County, and the rest of South Florida, and also serves clients in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests here. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz 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, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts.

That litigation background shapes how we handle transactions. We have seen what happens when a clause is read in a courtroom by a judge who was not at the negotiating table, so we draft and review documents with that reader in mind. The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on your matter knows the file, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy if we are in court and cannot respond right away.

The results reflect the work. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A case like that turns on the exact wording of the agreement and the history of the parties’ dealings, which is precisely the discipline that good transactional work requires from the start. We are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than prolonging a dispute.

Transactions and Disputes We Handle for Dania Beach Businesses

• Purchase and Sale of a Business: Buying into or selling out of a company involves purchase agreements, representations about financial condition, and post-closing claims when those representations prove wrong. Disputes often turn on what the seller disclosed and what the contract allowed the buyer to rely on.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: These documents control buyouts, expulsion, transfer restrictions, and deadlock. Poorly drafted ones are behind many of the business divorce cases we see, including breach of fiduciary duty claims between co-owners.
• Commercial Real Estate Contracts and Leases: Failed closings, purchase and sale contract disputes, and landlord and tenant conflicts are common near Dania Beach’s commercial and industrial corridors. Specific performance, the remedy our client won after trial in Broward County, is often the point of these disputes.
• Loan Documents and Financing Arrangements: Notes, guaranties, and security agreements tied to acquisitions or property purchases carry personal exposure that owners often underestimate until a default occurs.
• Construction and Vendor Contracts: Build-outs, renovations, and supply agreements generate payment and performance disputes, and the written terms usually decide who bears the loss.
• Family and Closely Held Business Arrangements: When siblings, spouses, or longtime friends co-own a company, we help document control, compensation, and succession so that a handshake understanding does not become a courtroom fight.
• Outside General Counsel Support: Through our general counsel program, we serve as your company’s registered agent and handle contract, compliance, and operational questions as they arise, which often keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: When funds are being diverted or property is about to be moved, we pursue temporary and permanent injunctions to preserve assets while the dispute is decided.

What to Do When a Business Deal Starts to Go Wrong

Start by gathering the documents: the signed agreement and every amendment, emails and texts showing how the parties actually behaved, financial statements, bank records, and anything showing who contributed what. Courts read contracts alongside the parties’ course of dealing, so informal messages can matter as much as the formal text. Do not delete anything, and do not move or spend disputed funds, because that can be used against you later.

Next, pay attention to the clock. Florida gives five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an oral or implied one. An action to rescind a contract also has a four-year period, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. A claim for specific performance has just one year, which surprises many people and is the reason a real estate buyer who wants the property rather than money cannot sit on the dispute. Professional malpractice claims, including against advisors who handled a transaction, carry a two-year period measured from when the problem was or should have been discovered. Negligence claims are also two years under the 2023 reform. Because these periods differ so much, identifying the right claim early is part of the job.

Where you file depends mostly on the amount at stake. County courts in Florida hear actions at law up to a set dollar ceiling, and circuit court takes the larger cases. A Dania Beach dispute of any size generally proceeds in Broward County, where the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit sits, with regional courthouses including the one in Hollywood and the central complex in Fort Lauderdale. Larger business cases may qualify for the Seventeenth Circuit’s complex business division, which handles large business and construction litigation and certain business entity dissolutions. A case can be filed directly into that division only by following the circuit’s administrative order, and the clerk assigns it randomly to a complex business or tort division. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach becomes relevant if the parties are from different states and the amount is large enough, which is common when an out-of-state investor is involved.

The most common mistake we see is waiting for the other side to cool off while the facts get worse. A second mistake is signing a quick settlement or amendment without having the language reviewed. Call a Dania Beach business litigation attorney before you sign anything that changes ownership, payment terms, or personal liability.

Building Exit Rights and Deadlock Protections Into the Deal

Florida’s LLC and corporate statutes give courts real power when co-owners cannot function together, but those remedies are a fallback, and your documents come first. For an LLC, a court may dissolve the company when it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, when controlling members are acting illegally or fraudulently, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened or occurring. The court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

For corporations, a shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on certain grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can often avoid dissolution by electing 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 generally irrevocable. The corporation must also notify the other shareholders of this option within 30 days after a dissolution proceeding begins.

The takeaway for a transaction is practical. If your agreement contains a deadlock sale provision, it can control instead of a court-ordered dissolution when properly initiated, and filing for judicial dissolution does not cost a shareholder the right to invoke a compliant buy-sell clause. A well-drafted buy-sell mechanism, a valuation method, and a clear definition of what counts as a deadlock turn a potential years-long fight into a defined process. That is far cheaper than litigating fair value from scratch, and it is the work a Dania Beach commercial transactions lawyer should do at the front end.

Dania Beach Business Transactions Questions Answered

What does a business transactions attorney actually do?

We draft, negotiate, and review the agreements that create and change a business: purchase and sale contracts, operating and shareholder agreements, leases, loan documents, and vendor or construction contracts. Because our firm also litigates, we draft with an eye toward how a court would read the language if the deal later fails.

Do I need a lawyer if the other side already has a standard form contract?

Often yes. Standard forms favor whoever supplied them, and terms about default, personal guaranties, attorney fees, and venue can shift risk significantly. Reviewing a form before signing is usually inexpensive compared with disputing it afterward.

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

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument. An oral or implied contract gets four years. The 2023 negligence reform cut that claim to two years but did not change the written-contract period.

Is the deadline different if I want the court to force the sale to close?

Yes. An action for specific performance carries only a one-year period, which is much shorter than an ordinary contract claim. If you want the property rather than damages, you need to act quickly.

Can I get out of a contract I signed because of misrepresentations?

Possibly. Rescission actions have a four-year period, and fraud claims run four years from discovery with a 12-year outer limit. Whether you can unwind the deal depends on what was said, what you relied on, and what your contract says about reliance and disclaimers.

What happens if my business partner and I cannot agree and the company is stuck?

Check your operating or shareholder agreement first for a buyout or deadlock sale clause. If there is none, Florida law lets a court dissolve an LLC for deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, and a court can appoint a receiver or order a buyout. These cases require a hearing and a showing of sufficient merit.

Does it matter that the dispute involves family members?

It changes how we handle it. Family businesses carry relationships alongside financial interests, so we handle them with discretion while still protecting your financial position, often through negotiation or mediation before litigation.

What if my partner is taking company money?

You may have claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and recovery of the funds. Where assets are being moved or spent, we can seek emergency injunctive relief to freeze the situation while the case proceeds.

I live in New York and my co-owner is in Broward County. Do I have to travel?

Not for every hearing. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, handle the local court appearances, and keep you informed at each stage through scheduled calls.

How much do business disputes cost, and can they be resolved without a trial?

Cost depends on the issues and how contested they become. Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and we pursue the path most likely to meet your goals efficiently. When a hard deadline or fast-moving asset risk exists, an early injunction motion can change the entire posture of a case.

Do you work with other attorneys on their clients’ Florida matters?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals, including out-of-state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes and Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation. We keep referring counsel informed and respect their relationship with the client.

Serving Business Transactions Clients Across Dania Beach and South Florida

Our work begins in Dania Beach and extends through Broward County, from Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, and Pembroke Park to Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, and Plantation. We also represent business owners in Sunrise, Oakland Park, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Weston, and Cooper City, along with Lauderhill and Wilton Manors.

North of the county line, we serve Palm Beach County clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. Many of our clients live out of state, in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, while holding companies, investment property, or shares of real estate across these communities. Wherever the deal or the dispute sits in South Florida, we handle the transaction, the negotiation, and if necessary the litigation.

Speak With a Dania Beach Business Transactions Lawyer Today

Whether you are about to sign a purchase agreement, restructure ownership, or already facing a partner who will not cooperate, a conversation with a Dania Beach business transactions lawyer at our firm can clarify your position before deadlines close in. Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation and talk through your documents, your goals, and the most efficient route to resolve the situation.