Davie Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Davie sits in Broward County, which means a real estate lawsuit filed over a Davie property is heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, not in Palm Beach County’s Fifteenth. Where a case is filed, and which clock is running against it, shapes the strategy from day one. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles contested real estate matters for property owners, investors, and families throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and a Davie real estate litigation attorney at the firm can tell you quickly which kind of problem you actually have.

Real estate disputes rarely arrive labeled. A failed closing on a commercial parcel, a sibling who will not sell an inherited house, a former business partner whose name is still on a deed, and a tenant who has stopped paying all sit in the same broad category but call for very different tools. Some of those tools have short deadlines. The right first conversation sorts out what claim you have, what the deadline is, and whether the fastest route is a negotiation, a demand letter, or an emergency motion.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Real Estate Disputes in Davie

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team has represented business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s difficult business and real estate disputes for decades. Attorney Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. 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 both state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it and can answer when you call. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court. Clients often arrive expecting they need the loudest lawyer available; Mr. Schwartz’s view, shaped by those years in litigation, is that clients really want someone who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do, with fees that make sense against what is at stake.

The results reflect that range. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That kind of outcome comes from careful work on contract language and the parties’ history, which is exactly what most real estate disputes turn on. The firm also handles mediation and arbitration, and a meaningful share of its work comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients own Florida property.

Kinds of Real Estate Disputes We Litigate for Davie Owners and Investors

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer or seller walks away, financing falls through, or a contingency is argued over. Remedies can include damages or, where the contract supports it, an order forcing the sale to go forward.
• Specific Performance Actions: When money damages cannot replace a particular parcel, a court can order the contract performed. Florida sets a one-year limitations period for this claim, so waiting to see how things settle can forfeit it.
• Partition Actions: Co-owners who cannot agree on a property can ask the court to divide it or order it sold. These arise among former business partners, siblings who inherited together, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: A competing deed, a stale claim, or a questionable conveyance clouds ownership. A quiet title suit asks the court to cancel the cloud and declare who owns the land.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Rent obligations, default, build-out responsibilities, and personal guaranties are common flashpoints between landlords and business tenants.
• Landlord and Tenant Matters: Nonpayment, lease violations, and termination notices must follow Chapter 83 requirements precisely, and mistakes in the notice can derail an otherwise sound case.
• Property Held Through a Company: When real estate sits inside an LLC or corporation and the owners fall out, the dispute is both a property case and a business divorce.
• Emergency Injunctions: When someone is about to sell, encumber, or strip a property, the firm can seek temporary or emergency injunctive relief to hold things in place while the case proceeds.

Deadlines and First Moves When a Property Dispute Surfaces

Start by gathering paper: the contract, deed, closing statement, operating agreement if a company owns the property, lease, and every email or text that touches the dispute. Real estate cases tend to be won on documents and on the sequence of what the parties did, so do not delete anything and do not sign anything new without having it reviewed.

Then look at the clock. A claim founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four. Rescission carries four years, fraud runs four years from discovery with an outer cap of twelve, and specific performance has just one year. A suit to recover real property can be barred where neither you nor your predecessor held possession in the prior seven years. These periods are different enough that guessing wrong is a real risk, which is why the first consultation focuses on what you can still bring.

Davie disputes over real property in Broward County are filed in the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and amounts above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court. Broward’s civil filings are handled through the Clerk’s circuit civil division in Fort Lauderdale, with regional courthouses in Hollywood, Plantation, and Deerfield Beach for some county-level matters. Larger commercial and business cases may qualify for the circuit’s complex business division, which a filer can request at the time of filing. Because a quiet title action may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and some properties or parties span Broward and Palm Beach, choosing where to file is itself a strategic decision. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach becomes an option when the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy qualifies.

A common mistake is acting before understanding the notice rules. A landlord who accepts partial rent after posting a three-day notice, or a tenant who ignores a seven-day notice, can each change the outcome. Another is waiting too long to ask a court to freeze a property. If a co-owner is moving to sell or borrow against the asset, an early injunction request matters more than a strongly worded letter.

Partition and Quiet Title in Florida: How the Courts Actually Handle Them

Partition is a chancery proceeding under Chapter 64. The complaint must describe the land, identify the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. When the court enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the property can be divided fairly. If they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court can order a public sale to the highest bidder and split the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. A credit sale is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone agrees otherwise.

Family-held property gets extra protection. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies when the property is held as tenants in common with no binding agreement on partition, at least one cotenant got title from a relative, and further conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If the property qualifies, the court must follow that act’s process, which favors buyouts among cotenants and requires findings before a forced sale. For families in Davie who inherited a house together, identifying whether this act applies can change the whole outcome.

Quiet title suits are aimed at removing clouds. Under Chapter 65, a person claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and where the claim rests on a fraudulent attempted conveyance, summary procedure is available and the court is directed to advance the case on its calendar. Adverse possession claims, whether under color of title or not, require seven years of continuous possession, and claims without color of title require specific filing steps with the property appraiser, including a full legal description.

When co-owners hold property through an LLC or corporation, the court has additional options. A member can seek judicial dissolution of an LLC for grounds such as deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriated assets, or an operating agreement that cannot practically be followed, and the court can appoint a receiver or custodian or order a buyout. Shareholders have comparable remedies, including a fair-value buyout election. Whether the dispute is framed as a partition, a dissolution, or both is a choice that deserves attention before anything is filed.

Questions Davie Property Owners Ask About Real Estate Litigation

What counts as real estate litigation?

It is any court dispute over land, buildings, or the contracts and ownership interests tied to them. That includes failed sales, title conflicts, partition suits, lease disputes, landlord and tenant cases, and disagreements among co-owners.

How long do I have to sue over a broken real estate contract?

For a contract founded on a written instrument, five years. Oral or implied contracts get four. A claim seeking specific performance, meaning an order that the sale be completed, has only one year, so it is the shortest and easiest to lose.

Can a court force a seller to complete the sale?

Yes, in appropriate cases. Because every parcel is unique, courts can order specific performance of a real estate contract. The firm obtained a 32-page final judgment of that kind after a five-day bench trial in Broward County.

My co-owner will not sell. Can I make them?

You can ask the court for partition. If the land cannot be fairly divided, the court can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Special rules apply if the property qualifies as heirs property.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a lawsuit asking the court to declare who owns land and cancel competing claims or defective documents that cloud the title. Florida generally expects the plaintiff to trace title back at least seven years.

Does the size of the dispute decide which court hears it?

Largely, yes. Disputes above the county court ceiling go to circuit court, while smaller ones are heard in county court and the smallest in small claims. The ceiling is adjusted periodically, so the current figure should be confirmed before filing.

How long does a real estate lawsuit take in Broward County?

It depends on the claim and the docket. A clean contract case can resolve in months through settlement or mediation, while a contested bench trial or a multi-party title dispute takes longer. Early injunctions can speed the part of the case that cannot wait.

Can I stop someone from selling a property while we fight?

Often, yes. A court can issue temporary or emergency injunctions to preserve the property and prevent transfers or encumbrances while the case proceeds. Speed matters, and the request needs to be supported by documents.

I live in New York or New Jersey and own a Davie property. Do I have to travel?

No. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in South Florida disputes, handles the local court appearances, and keeps you updated by phone and scheduled conference calls.

What if the property is owned by an LLC and my partner is draining it?

That can support claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds, along with judicial dissolution or a court-ordered buyout. Injunctive relief can stop assets from being moved while the case is pending.

Is hiring a lawyer worth it for a smaller property dispute?

Often a short consultation is enough to decide. The firm looks for the resolution that serves your goals and budget, which sometimes means a demand letter or mediation instead of a full lawsuit.

Serving Real Estate Litigation Clients Across Davie and South Florida

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents clients in Davie and across Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, and Deerfield Beach. The firm also serves Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach to West Palm Beach, along with owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Whether the property is a Davie commercial building, a home inherited by siblings, or an investment shared with a former partner, the same careful work on contracts and title applies.

Speak With a Davie Real Estate Litigation Lawyer About Your Property Dispute

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is blocking a sale, or a cloud on your title is holding up your plans, a conversation with a Davie real estate litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify your deadlines and your best path forward. Call to schedule a consultation and bring the documents you have; the team will tell you plainly what the situation calls for.