Deerfield Beach Contract Litigation Attorney

Whether you are holding a signed agreement the other side has stopped honoring or you have just been served with a complaint over a contract you thought was settled, the choices you make in the first few weeks shape what is left to fight about later. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Deerfield Beach, across Broward County and Palm Beach County, and throughout South Florida. If you are searching for a Deerfield Beach contract litigation attorney, you probably already have a document, a dispute, and a deadline running in the background.

Contract cases are won and lost on specifics: the exact wording of a clause, the sequence of emails and payments that followed, and whether the claim was filed within the time Florida allows. A purchase agreement for a commercial building, an operating agreement between LLC members, a lease with a personal guarantee, and a construction contract with a stalled payment schedule each raise different questions, and each deserves a lawyer who reads the paper before forming an opinion.

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

The Andrew M. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of founder Andrew M. Schwartz’s practice for his entire career. He has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and 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 both state and federal courts.

The firm works as a true legal team, meaning everyone on a file knows what is happening in it, so a client who calls with a question reaches someone who can answer it. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and conference calls are scheduled at times that work for the people involved. Mr. Schwartz’s own view is that clients often think they want the most aggressive lawyer available, when what they really want is someone who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do. The firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget, and its attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation.

The results reflect that preparation. In 2024, after a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm obtained a 32-page final judgment awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A win of that kind, where a court orders the other side to actually perform the deal rather than just pay damages, is the sort of outcome that depends on careful record-building long before trial.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle for Deerfield Beach Clients

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings, disputed deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and buyers or sellers who walk away from commercial or residential deals. These sometimes end in a claim for damages and sometimes in a demand that the court compel the sale.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Disputes between LLC members, partners, and shareholders over buyout formulas, management authority, distributions, and what an agreement actually says about exit. These often overlap with fiduciary duty and business divorce claims.
• Commercial Leases: Rent and common-area charge disputes, personal guarantees, default and termination, build-out obligations, and landlord or tenant claims that turn on lease language.
• Loan Documents and Guarantees: Disagreements over default, acceleration, repayment terms, and the personal exposure of owners who signed guarantees for a company’s debt.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes, change orders, defective or unfinished work, and conflicts between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors on larger projects.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Claims against partners or managers who cannot account for company money, including diverted funds, disputed capital contributions, and commingled accounts, with requests for an accounting and emergency relief where assets are at risk.
• Family and Friend-Run Business Agreements: Contracts between siblings, parents and children, or longtime friends that were informal, vague, or never updated, where the personal history makes the legal questions harder.
• Specific Performance and Injunctions: Cases where money cannot fix the problem and the client needs a court to compel performance or stop conduct before a final judgment.

What to Do When a Contract Is Breached: Deadlines, Documents, and First Moves

Start by collecting the paper. You want the signed agreement and every amendment, the emails and texts around the negotiation and the breach, invoices, payment records, bank statements, and any notice letters either side has sent. Do not delete anything, and do not rewrite the story in a new email. Messages sent in frustration tend to resurface in discovery.

Next, read the contract for the provisions that control how the dispute must be handled: notice and cure requirements, a mediation or arbitration clause, a choice of venue, an attorney’s fee provision, and any limits on damages. Skipping a required notice step, or filing in the wrong forum, can hand the other side an early argument. Then deal with the clock. A claim founded on a written contract has a five-year limitations period in Florida, while claims on oral or implied agreements have four. An action to rescind a contract also carries four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve. A suit seeking specific performance has a one-year period, which catches people off guard because it is so much shorter than the damages claim. Negligence claims, which sometimes sit alongside a contract dispute, are now limited to two years for causes of action arising after March 24, 2023, and professional malpractice claims, whether framed in contract or tort, also carry two years from discovery.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount at stake and the location. Claims above the county court limit are heard in circuit court. For Deerfield Beach, that usually means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit sitting in and for Broward County, and Broward civil matters are also heard at the North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach itself. Larger business and construction disputes can be directed into the circuit’s complex business division, which handles matters such as business entity dissolution and large commercial litigation. Where the defendant, the property, or the contract performance sits in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit may be the proper venue instead. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach among other places, becomes an option when federal jurisdiction exists.

If assets are being moved or a deal is about to be undone, waiting for a final judgment may be too slow. Temporary and permanent injunctions exist for that reason, and a Deerfield Beach business litigation lawyer should be able to tell you early whether emergency relief is realistic. Finally, resist the urge to negotiate alone with the other side after a breach. Informal offers, partial payments, and casual admissions can complicate your position, and a conversation with counsel before you reply is usually inexpensive insurance.

Damages, Specific Performance, and Other Ways a Contract Case Can End

Most people assume a contract case means a demand for money, and often it does. Damages generally aim to put the injured party where performance would have left them. Many agreements also contain attorney’s fee clauses, liquidated damages provisions, or limits on what can be recovered, and those terms can matter as much as the breach itself.

Some disputes, though, are about the thing rather than its price. Real estate is unique, which is why a court can order a seller to complete a sale. That remedy is exactly what the firm secured in its Broward County commercial real estate trial, and it is time sensitive because of the one-year limit noted above. Rescission, which unwinds the deal, is another path when an agreement was induced by fraud or misrepresentation.

When the contract is the foundation of a business relationship, the remedy may reach beyond the contract itself. A member or shareholder who finds the company’s finances are not adding up may bring claims for an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty alongside the contract claim. In LLCs, Florida law allows a court to order dissolution on grounds that include deadlock that threatens irreparable harm, misappropriated or wasted assets, and conduct by controlling members that is illegal or fraudulent, and the court can appoint a receiver or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest. For corporations, a shareholder petition for dissolution can prompt the corporation or other shareholders to elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, and if the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase. Operating and shareholder agreements may also contain their own deadlock sale mechanisms that change how those statutory remedies play out.

Many contract disputes settle, and a good settlement is not a sign of weakness. Mediation and arbitration clauses are common, and the attorneys here handle both. What matters is whether the settlement is built on a realistic reading of the contract and the evidence, and not on pressure.

Contract Litigation Questions From Deerfield Beach Clients

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

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. Contracts that are oral or implied carry a four-year period. The recent change that shortened the negligence deadline did not alter the five-year written-contract period.

Is the deadline different if I want the court to force the other side to perform?

Yes. An action for specific performance has a one-year limitations period, which is much shorter than the damages claim. If you want a seller to close or a counterparty to complete a deal, speak with counsel quickly.

Do I need a written contract to have a case?

No. Oral and implied agreements can be enforced, though they are harder to prove and have a four-year limitations period. Emails, texts, invoices, and a pattern of performance often become the evidence of what the parties agreed to.

What is the difference between damages and specific performance?

Damages pay money to compensate for the breach. Specific performance is a court order that the breaching party actually carry out the contract. It is most often sought in real estate deals, since each property is unique.

Which court will hear my case if I am in Deerfield Beach?

Larger contract claims are generally heard in circuit court, and for Deerfield Beach that is typically the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, with civil matters also handled at the North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach. If the dispute is centered in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit may be the right venue. Smaller claims go to county court, and the smallest to small claims court.

What is a complex business division, and could my case qualify?

The Seventeenth Circuit maintains a complex business division for matters such as large business and construction disputes and the dissolution of certain business entities. Whether a case qualifies depends on the court’s administrative requirements, and a lawyer can assess that before filing.

Can I get a court order stopping my business partner from moving company money?

Possibly. Courts can issue temporary injunctions to preserve assets while a case is pending, and in statutory dissolution proceedings they can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing. The strength of your evidence and how quickly you act both matter.

My operating agreement says disputes go to arbitration. Does that mean I cannot go to court?

Often it does, at least for the covered claims. Arbitration and mediation clauses are frequently enforced, but their scope varies and some claims or remedies may still be available in court. Have the clause reviewed before you file anything.

If I live in New York or New Jersey, can I still pursue a contract claim in South Florida?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests here, handles the local court appearances, and keeps clients informed so they do not need to travel for every hearing.

Is a contract dispute worth litigating if the amount is modest?

It depends on the fee provision in the contract, the strength of the evidence, and the cost of getting to a result. Sometimes a demand letter or mediation resolves a smaller claim efficiently. The firm tries to match the approach to the client’s goals and budget rather than drawing a case out.

Can another lawyer refer me or my client to your firm?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s work comes from other attorneys, including out of state counsel whose clients have Florida disputes. The firm communicates with referring counsel throughout and respects the referring lawyer’s relationship with the client.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients From Deerfield Beach Across South Florida

The firm’s work for clients in Deerfield Beach reaches into the surrounding Broward County communities of Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Coral Springs, Parkland, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Davie, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. To the north in Palm Beach County, it serves clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens.

Contract disputes in this part of South Florida tend to involve commercial properties, small and mid-sized companies, investors with property across county lines, and families whose businesses straddle Broward and Palm Beach.

Talk With a Deerfield Beach Contract Litigation Lawyer Before the Deadline Decides for You

If a contract has been broken, a deal is falling apart, or you have been sued over an agreement you signed, a conversation with a Deerfield Beach contract litigation lawyer early on can clarify which claims you have, which deadlines apply, and whether emergency relief makes sense. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team has handled contract, business, and real estate disputes for South Florida clients for decades. Call the firm to discuss your situation and schedule a consultation.