Deerfield Beach Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Most property disputes end the same way: someone keeps the property, someone gets paid, or someone is released from a title or contract they never wanted. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team helps South Florida owners, investors, landlords, and families reach one of those outcomes, and a Deerfield Beach real estate litigation attorney from our firm can tell you early which of them is realistically on the table. We handle failed closings, purchase contract disputes, partition actions, title and quiet title cases, and landlord and tenant conflicts for clients in Deerfield Beach, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.

Real estate cases have an unusual feature: the clock and the paper matter more than almost anything else. A signed contract, a recorded deed, or a lease usually decides who wins, and the filing deadline attached to each type of claim can end a case before it begins. A buyer who wants the property itself, rather than a refund, has a much shorter window than most people expect, and the right claim to file depends on what you actually want at the end.

Deerfield Beach sits right at the Broward and Palm Beach County line, and that matters for litigation. Civil cases over Broward property are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and the Broward North Regional Courthouse is located in Deerfield Beach itself. Property just across the line in Boca Raton or Delray Beach belongs to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County. Knowing which court owns your dispute is the first practical decision in the case.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving clients in Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The firm represents business owners, investors, and families in some of South Florida’s hardest property disputes, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own real estate here. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career built around complex contract disputes and conflicts between co-owners, partners, and shareholders.

Andrew 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 state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on your matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when we are in court and cannot pick up right away.

The firm’s results speak to the kind of case Deerfield Beach property owners bring. After a 5-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. Winning an order that forces a sale to close, rather than just collecting damages, takes careful trial preparation and a clean record of the parties’ dealings. We also handle mediation and arbitration, and we look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. Many of our matters come from other attorneys, and we keep referring counsel informed throughout.

Types of Real Estate Disputes We Litigate Near Deerfield Beach

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer who wants the property can sue for specific performance, while a seller or buyer who wants out may be fighting over deposits, financing contingencies, inspection terms, or a missed closing date. These cases turn on the exact language of the contract and on what each side did before the deadline passed.
• Partition Actions: When co-owners cannot agree to keep, sell, or divide a property, any of them can ask a court to split it or order a sale. We see these among former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared purchase.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: A cloud on title, such as a competing deed, a fraudulent conveyance, or a claim by someone who never held legal ownership, can freeze a sale or refinance. A quiet title action asks the court to decide who owns the property and clear the record.
• Adverse Possession and Boundary Claims: A neighbor or occupant may claim ownership after years of using land that is not theirs. Florida sets specific requirements, including seven years of continuous possession, so these claims are won or lost on the facts.
• Landlord and Tenant Conflicts: Unpaid rent, lease violations, early terminations, and disputes over repairs all end up in court when notice rules are not followed. A defective notice can derail an otherwise valid eviction.
• Commercial Lease and Real Estate Contract Breaches: Shopping center, office, and industrial tenants and owners along the U.S. 1 and Hillsboro Boulevard corridors regularly dispute rent obligations, build-out terms, and lease defaults.
• Disputes Among Co-Owners of Business Property: When a company owns the building and the owners fall out, the property fight and the business divorce become the same case. Claims can include breach of fiduciary duty, accounting, and emergency relief to stop assets from being sold or moved.

What to Do Now If Your Property Dispute Is Heating Up

Start by gathering the paper. Collect the signed contract and every amendment, the deed and any recorded instruments, closing documents, lease agreements, and the email and text trail between the parties. In real estate cases the written record usually decides the outcome, and the details people forget, like a changed closing date confirmed by email, are often the ones that matter. Do not sign anything new, do not make verbal side deals, and do not move out of or change the property without first understanding what that might do to your claim.

Pay attention to deadlines, because Florida’s limitation periods vary by claim and are short in some places. A lawsuit on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied contract has four. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery, with an outer cap of 12 years. The one that surprises people most is specific performance, which carries only a one-year period. A buyer who waits to see whether a seller will come around may lose the right to force the sale. Filing to recover real property also requires that the plaintiff or a predecessor held possession within the prior seven years.

If the dispute involves a tenant, check the notice first. For unpaid rent, a Florida landlord must deliver a written demand and wait three days, not counting weekends or court holidays, before terminating. For other violations that can be fixed, the notice gives seven days to correct the problem, and for violations that cannot be cured the landlord may give a seven-day notice to vacate. A landlord who accepts partial rent after posting notice must follow specific steps, or the notice may be undercut. Mistakes here are common and costly.

Contact counsel before the other side files. A case with a pending lis pendens, a disputed deed, or a co-owner threatening to sell can need quick action, including emergency injunctive relief to keep the property from being transferred while the case is decided. Disputes over Broward property are filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and a case filed in Broward can be heard at the North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach or at the central courthouse in Fort Lauderdale depending on how it is assigned. Disputes over Palm Beach County property go to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. Cases that raise federal questions or meet diversity requirements may belong in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Partition and Quiet Title: Two Cases That Work Differently Than You Expect

Partition is simpler in concept than in practice. Chapter 64 puts these actions in the circuit court’s equity jurisdiction, and the complaint must describe the land, name every owner, and state what share each holds. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to decide whether the property can be divided fairly. When it cannot, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. A court can allow a sale on credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase price must be paid up front unless everyone consents otherwise.

Family-owned property adds a layer. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition cases filed on or after July 1, 2020, and it changes how inherited property is handled. If the property qualifies as heirs property, which generally means co-owners hold as tenants in common, one acquired title from a relative, and at least one further condition is met such as relatives holding 20 percent or more of the interests, the court must follow the Act’s procedures. Those procedures give family members protections a standard partition case does not, including requirements before the court may order a sale. Whether your property qualifies can change your strategy completely.

Quiet title works from the opposite direction. Under Chapter 65, a person claiming legal or equitable title to land can ask the court to determine ownership and cancel a conveyance or other record that clouds title. The plaintiff generally has to trace title back at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise. A case may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and when the dispute involves an allegedly fraudulent conveyance, Florida law provides for a summary procedure and moves the case up the calendar. For adverse possession claims, the person asserting it must show seven years of continuous possession, and when no written title is involved, they must also file a return with the county property appraiser that includes a full legal description of the land claimed.

Questions Deerfield Beach Property Owners Ask Us

What does a real estate litigation attorney actually do?

We represent owners, buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and investors in disputes over property and the contracts behind it. That includes suing to enforce or defend a purchase agreement, bringing or defending partition and quiet title cases, handling lease disputes, and seeking court orders that protect property while a case is pending.

Can I force a seller to close on a house or commercial property?

Possibly, through a claim for specific performance, which asks the court to order the sale to go forward. Florida allows only one year to bring that action, so waiting can cost you the remedy. We have won a final judgment awarding specific performance of a commercial real estate contract after a 5-day bench trial in Broward County.

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

For a written contract, five years. For an oral or implied contract, four years. A request to rescind a contract also has four years, and fraud has four years from discovery up to a 12-year outer limit. Specific performance is the outlier at one year, so the remedy you want matters as much as the breach.

Can one co-owner force the sale of a property we own together?

Generally yes. A co-owner can file a partition action, and if the property cannot be divided fairly, the court may order it sold and split the proceeds. Heirs property gets additional procedural protections under Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, so how you came to own the property affects the outcome.

What is the difference between partition and quiet title?

Partition separates co-owners who both have valid ownership interests. Quiet title resolves who actually owns the property when someone else asserts a competing claim or when a document clouds the record. They solve different problems, though a single dispute sometimes needs both.

My landlord or tenant is not following the rules. Does that matter in court?

It can matter a great deal. Florida requires specific written notices before a lease can be terminated, including three business days for unpaid rent and seven days for curable violations. A defective notice can lead to a dismissed case, and accepting partial rent after posting notice has its own required steps.

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

It depends on the claim, the court, and how much the other side contests. Simple title cases can move faster, while contested contract and partition cases that need discovery and trial take longer. Many disputes resolve through negotiation or mediation before trial, and we tell clients early what pace to expect.

Can I bring a lawsuit even though I live in New York or New Jersey?

Yes. We regularly represent out of state owners with property or partners in South Florida. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

What if my business partner and I co-own the building and we are fighting?

That is both a property dispute and a business divorce. Florida law allows court dissolution of an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable harm is threatened, when assets are being misappropriated, or when it is not reasonably practicable to run the company under its operating agreement. A court can also appoint a custodian or receiver after a hearing, or order a buyout of one member’s interest.

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

Often, yes, especially when the issue involves title or a deadline. Counties handle civil claims up to a set amount in county court, with larger claims going to circuit court, and the right forum depends on what is at stake. We look at cost against value and tell you plainly if the numbers do not justify a lawsuit.

Do I have to go to trial?

No. Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and our attorneys are experienced in all three as well as in the courtroom. We pursue the route most likely to meet your goals efficiently, and prepare every case as if it will be tried.

Real Estate Litigation Clients Across Deerfield Beach and South Florida

Our work for Deerfield Beach clients begins here and extends outward. We represent property owners in Deerfield Beach itself and in the neighboring Broward communities of Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Coral Springs, Parkland, and Tamarac. Further south in Broward County we serve clients in Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Plantation, Sunrise, and Hollywood.

Just across the county line, we handle disputes in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach. Whether the property sits in the Seventeenth Circuit or the Fifteenth, we are familiar with how both courts handle civil real estate cases, and we regularly represent investors, families, and business owners with property in either county. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own homes, rental property, or commercial real estate in South Florida also rely on us to manage their cases locally.

Speak With a Deerfield Beach Real Estate Litigation Lawyer Before a Deadline Passes

A Deerfield Beach real estate litigation lawyer can tell you quickly whether you have a strong claim, what remedy fits it, and how much time is left to file. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team has represented clients in business and real estate disputes throughout South Florida, and we will give you a straight assessment of your options and costs.

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is pushing for a sale, a title problem is blocking your plans, or a lease dispute is escalating, call our team to schedule a consultation. The sooner we review your documents, the more options you will have.