Dania Beach Contract Litigation Attorney

Whether a signed agreement still means what it said when you signed it is a question that businesses and individuals in Dania Beach face when a supplier stops delivering, a buyer walks away from a closing, a partner ignores an operating agreement, or a lease turns out to be read two different ways. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in contract disputes throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a Dania Beach contract litigation attorney from our firm can tell you early whether your agreement gives you a claim worth pursuing, or a defense worth asserting.

Contract cases are won and lost on specifics: the exact words of the agreement, what the parties did afterward, which party performed first, and whether the paperwork supports the story each side tells. Deadlines also matter more than most clients expect, and some contract-related remedies expire in a single year. The sections below explain how these disputes are built, how they move through Broward County’s courts, and what to do in the first days after you suspect a breach.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Contract Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s 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 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. He 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.

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. That matters in contract litigation, where a single email chain or amendment can change the strategy and clients need answers quickly.

The firm’s trial work includes a recent commercial real estate contract case in Broward County Circuit Court. After a five-day bench trial, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of the contract, which means the court ordered the deal to be carried out rather than leaving the client with money damages alone. Not every dispute should end at trial, and our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well. We look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than drawing out a case for its own sake. No attorney can guarantee a result, but a case prepared for trial tends to settle on better terms.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle for South Florida Clients

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings, disputes over deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and claims by a buyer or seller that the other side defaulted. Where a unique piece of property is involved, specific performance may be a better remedy than damages.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Breaches of buyout provisions, transfer restrictions, distribution rules, and management duties among LLC members and shareholders, often alongside fiduciary duty claims.
• Commercial Leases: Disputes over rent escalations, common area charges, build-out obligations, personal guaranties, early termination, and holdover tenancies in Broward retail, office, and industrial space.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Defaults, acceleration, disputes over what a personal guarantor actually promised, and lender conduct that departs from the loan terms.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors, change order disagreements, and claims over defective or incomplete work.
• Business Sale and Acquisition Agreements: Disputes over earnouts, purchase price adjustments, representations and warranties, non-compete covenants, and seller financing after a company changes hands.
• Distribution, Supply, and Service Agreements: Non-delivery, non-payment, exclusivity violations, and termination disputes between businesses that depend on each other, a recurring issue for the marine, logistics, and trade businesses around Dania Beach.
• Missing Funds and Accounting Claims: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, and commingled accounts, where a contract claim is paired with a demand for an accounting or emergency relief to freeze assets.

The First Days After a Breach: What to Do and Where the Case Will Go

Begin by gathering the complete paper trail. That means the signed agreement and every amendment, the emails and texts that show how the parties actually dealt with one another, invoices, payment records, and any notice of default or demand letter. Do not rely on a copy of a contract you cannot confirm is final. Courts look hard at the signed version, and the history of the parties’ dealings often decides ambiguous wording. Preserve electronic messages and resist the urge to delete anything, including messages you find embarrassing.

Read the contract for notice and cure provisions before you send anything. Many agreements require written notice of breach and a period to fix it before a party may terminate or sue. Skipping that step can hand the other side a defense. Look as well for clauses that control where and how the dispute is resolved: an arbitration requirement, a mediation step, a forum selection clause, or a prevailing-party attorney fee provision. These terms shape the whole case, including whether you end up in court at all.

Be careful about what you say and do while you gather facts. Continuing to perform after a breach, accepting late payments without reservation, or telling the other side by text that you will “work it out” can be used to argue waiver or a modified agreement. If you intend to terminate, make sure you are on firm ground first, because a wrongful termination can turn a good claim into a counterclaim.

Timing is the other early priority. A claim on a written contract generally must be filed within five years. A claim on an oral or implied agreement carries four years, and a suit to rescind a contract also has four. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to a 12-year outer limit. A suit for specific performance has a one-year period, so a buyer or seller who wants the court to compel a closing cannot wait. Where the underlying claim is a professional malpractice claim, even one framed as breach of contract, the period is two years from discovery. Because the right deadline depends on how the claim is characterized, have it reviewed promptly rather than assuming you have five years.

As for venue, a dispute involving a Dania Beach party or property is typically heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Cases above the county court ceiling are filed in circuit court, while smaller disputes go to county civil court, and claims within the small claims limit have their own track. Larger business cases may be eligible for the circuit’s complex business division, which handles large business and construction litigation and certain entity dissolutions; a case can be filed directly into that division only by following the circuit’s administrative order and filing the required form with the Clerk, and the Clerk then assigns the case randomly to one of the complex divisions. Where a federal court has jurisdiction, such as a dispute between parties from different states, the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Counsel familiar with these courts can advise whether a case belongs in state or federal court and whether the complex division fits.

Remedies in Contract Cases: Damages, Specific Performance, and Emergency Relief

Money damages are the default remedy, and the strongest damages cases are the ones where lost profits, repair costs, or unpaid balances can be proven with documents rather than estimates. Courts expect damages to be tied to the breach, so a claim built on speculation is vulnerable. Consequential damages and attorney fees depend on what the contract allows and what the law permits, which is why the agreement’s wording on those points deserves attention before filing.

Equitable remedies matter when money cannot fix the problem. Specific performance asks the court to order a party to do what it promised, most often in real estate deals involving a particular property, and the one-year limitations period for that remedy makes speed essential. Rescission unwinds the agreement entirely and is typically paired with fraud or mistake allegations. Injunctions can stop a former partner from violating a restrictive covenant, moving assets, or taking actions that would make a later judgment worthless. Our team is experienced in obtaining temporary and permanent injunctions, including early and emergency relief, when a dispute cannot wait for final judgment.

Defendants have their own playbook, and a good Dania Beach contract litigation lawyer prepares for it. Common defenses include that no valid contract was formed, that the other side breached first, that a condition to performance never occurred, that the contract was modified or waived, that the claim is time-barred, or that the damages claimed are too remote. Counterclaims are frequent. A client who files without considering what the other side will assert in response is often surprised by how the case develops.

Contract Litigation Questions We Hear from Dania Beach Clients

What is the deadline to sue for breach of a written contract in Florida?

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. Oral and implied contracts have four years. The 2023 change that shortened the negligence period to two years did not alter the five-year written contract period, but a claim that is really a professional malpractice or fraud claim can follow a different clock, so the label on the claim matters.

Do I need a written contract to have a case?

No. Oral agreements and agreements implied from the parties’ conduct can be enforced in Florida, though they are harder to prove and carry the shorter four-year limitations period. Emails, texts, invoices, and a pattern of payment can all serve as evidence of the terms.

Can a court force the other side to complete a deal instead of just paying damages?

In appropriate cases, yes. Specific performance is most common when the subject is unique, such as a particular commercial property. It must be sought within one year, and the party seeking it generally must show it was ready, willing, and able to perform its own obligations.

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

Usually the clause will be enforced and the dispute will be sent to arbitration. Courts do examine whether the clause covers the claim, whether it was validly agreed to, and whether it was waived by litigation conduct, so the answer depends on the wording and on what has happened in the case so far.

What court would hear my contract case in Dania Beach?

A suit is typically filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County. Smaller disputes go to county civil court, and very small ones to small claims. Larger business and construction disputes may qualify for the circuit’s complex business division.

How long does contract litigation take in Broward County?

There is no honest single answer, because it depends on the court’s track assignment, the amount of discovery, whether dispositive motions are filed, and how quickly the parties are willing to mediate. Cases with clear documents and a strong summary judgment argument can resolve faster than fact-heavy disputes headed for a bench or jury trial.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a contract dispute that is only worth a modest amount?

It can be, particularly if the contract has a prevailing-party fee clause or if the amount falls within a lower court track with simpler procedures. A short consultation can tell you whether a demand letter is likely to resolve things and whether the cost of pursuing the claim makes sense relative to the recovery.

Can I terminate a contract myself if the other side breached?

Sometimes, but it is risky. Many contracts require written notice and a cure period, and terminating without satisfying those requirements can make you the party in breach. Review the termination provisions and the nature of the breach before acting.

What if my business partner breached our operating agreement and is also taking company money?

That can support several claims at once: breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, and recovery of funds. If assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can be asked for injunctive relief during the case. In some situations the facts may also support judicial dissolution of the LLC or a court-ordered purchase of a member’s interest.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Can your firm handle a contract dispute over a Florida deal?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from those states who have business or real estate interests in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed so that you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Does a contract dispute always have to go to trial?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and our attorneys are experienced in each. Preparing as if the case will be tried is usually what produces the best settlement terms.

Contract Litigation Representation Across Dania Beach and South Florida

Our work for Dania Beach clients draws on the whole Broward County business community. We represent owners and investors from Dania Beach itself and the neighboring communities of Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Park, and Davie, along with clients in Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Pompano Beach, and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Our service extends west and north through Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, and Deerfield Beach, as well as Cooper City, Pembroke Pines, and Miramar.

Into Palm Beach County, we serve clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Wellington. We also represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose business partners, tenants, or counterparties are here in South Florida. Wherever the contract was signed or performed, we can assess whether the dispute belongs in the Broward County or Palm Beach County circuit courts or in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.

Speak With a Dania Beach Contract Litigation Lawyer

If a counterparty has defaulted, if you have been accused of breaching an agreement, or if you are holding a contract that no longer works and are unsure of your exposure, speak with a Dania Beach contract litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team before you send a demand, terminate, or file anything. Early review of the agreement, the paper trail, and the applicable deadlines often shapes the outcome more than any step taken later.

Call our team to discuss your dispute. We will tell you candidly what the contract supports, what it will take to pursue or defend the claim, and whether a negotiated resolution, mediation, arbitration, or litigation is the right path for your goals and budget.