Delray Beach Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Whether the goal is to force a seller to close, clear a cloud off a title, get out of a jointly owned property, or recover a deposit that should never have been kept, real estate disputes in Delray Beach come down to one question: what does the document say, and what will a court do with it? The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Delray Beach real estate litigation for owners, investors, landlords, and families with property in Palm Beach County and Broward County, and for out of state clients whose South Florida holdings have turned contentious.

Real property cases in this market tend to be driven by a few recurring pressures: a buyer or seller who walks away from a signed contract, co-owners who no longer agree on what to do with a shared parcel, a recorded instrument that clouds who actually owns a lot, or a lease that has broken down. Each of these has its own statutory framework and its own clock, and the choices made in the first weeks often decide how the case ends.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Delray Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and the rest of Palm Beach County and Broward County, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests in South Florida. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, holds his undergraduate degree from Emory University (1986) and his law degree from the University of Miami (1989), and has spent 37 years in litigation. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts.

The firm’s results in this area are concrete. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court entered a 32-page final judgment in May 2024 awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome reflects the kind of work contract-driven property cases demand: reading the agreement closely, reconstructing the parties’ dealings, and presenting that record clearly to a judge.

Clients reach a team, not a single name on the letterhead. Everyone working on a file knows it, calls are answered, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as trial, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case. Many matters also come to the firm by referral from other lawyers, including out of state counsel whose clients need a local litigator.

Types of Real Estate Disputes We Litigate

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer who cannot or will not close, or a seller who backs out after a better offer, can leave the other side with lost time, a tied-up deposit, and a property they cannot move on. Claims can include breach of contract, return or forfeiture of deposits, damages, and a suit to compel the sale itself.
• Specific Performance Actions: Because real property is treated as unique, a court can order a seller to convey rather than merely pay damages. Florida sets a one-year limitations period for specific performance claims, which makes this one of the least forgiving deadlines in the field.
• Partition Actions: Co-owners who cannot agree can ask a chancery court to divide the property or, when division is impractical, order a sale and split the proceeds. These cases arise among former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Heirs Property Cases: When land passed through a family and relatives hold it together without an agreement, Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act can change how the case proceeds, including how the court weighs a sale against a division of the land.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: A competing deed, a fraudulent conveyance, or an old recorded claim can cloud ownership. A quiet title action asks the court to determine who holds title and remove the cloud, and it can be filed in any county where part of the land sits.
• Adverse Possession Claims: A person who has occupied land for seven years under a claim of title may have a statutory claim, and an owner who ignores a long-standing occupant may be in danger of losing rights. The statutory requirements, including recorded instruments for color of title claims and a property appraiser return, are technical.
• Commercial and Residential Lease Disputes: Landlord and tenant cases range from nonpayment and termination notices to disputes over commercial lease terms, defaults, and guaranties.
• Property Held Through a Business Entity: When real estate is owned by an LLC or corporation and the owners fall out, the dispute is both a property case and a business divorce, often involving judicial dissolution, a buyout, or emergency relief to stop assets from being moved.

Deadlines and First Moves When a Property Dispute Starts

The clock is the first thing to check. Florida’s limitations periods differ sharply by claim: five years for an action on a written contract, four years for oral or implied contracts and for rescission, four years from discovery (capped at 12 years) for fraud, and just one year for specific performance. A 2023 reform shortened the negligence period to two years but left the five-year written-contract period alone. A seller’s breach of a written purchase agreement and a related negligence claim against an inspector or professional can therefore expire years apart, and delay can quietly forfeit the remedy you want most.

Before contacting the other side, gather the signed contract and every amendment, the deposit and escrow records, recorded deeds and any title commitment, the correspondence and texts that show who said what and when, and any operating agreement if an entity holds the property. Avoid statements in writing that characterize the deal in ways that could be used against you, and do not stop paying carrying costs or taxes on a property in dispute without advice, since that can create new problems.

If the dispute involves a lease, notice rules matter. For nonpayment of rent, a landlord generally must deliver a written demand and wait three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, before terminating. For curable noncompliance other than rent, the notice gives the tenant seven days to correct, and for incurable violations the landlord may give a seven-day notice to vacate. Accepting partial rent after a notice does not automatically waive termination, but the landlord must handle the payment correctly, such as giving a receipt with the balance due or placing the funds in the court registry. Defective notices are a common reason possession cases fail.

If assets or the property itself are at risk of being transferred, encumbered, or damaged, the case may not be able to wait for a final judgment. The firm regularly seeks temporary and permanent injunctions, including emergency relief, to freeze the situation while the merits are decided.

Where These Cases Are Heard

Real estate cases involving Delray Beach property are typically filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County; the county has a courthouse serving the south county in Delray Beach, while the main courthouse is in West Palm Beach. Cases involving Broward County property go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, with the central courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Claims above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, and disputes involving title, partition, and equitable relief such as injunctions and specific performance are matters for the circuit court sitting in chancery. A quiet title or partition action may be filed in any county where part of the land is located.

Broward also operates a complex business division that handles larger business and construction litigation and certain entity dissolutions, which can matter when a property dispute is intertwined with a business breakup. Where diversity or federal questions are present, the Southern District of Florida holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Choosing the right forum and framing the claims correctly at the outset affects speed, cost, and available remedies.

Co-Owned Property, Business Entities, and the Exit Options

Many of the hardest real estate disputes are really ownership disputes. In a partition case, the court enters a judgment, appoints three commissioners, and if the land cannot be fairly divided, may order a public sale with proceeds shared according to each owner’s interest. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone agrees otherwise. Heirs property is treated differently, and a court will not simply order a division in kind without considering statutory factors and the commissioners’ findings.

When the property sits inside an LLC, the exit path runs through the entity statutes. A member can seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriated or wasted assets, illegal conduct by those in control, or that it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. Courts can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. For corporations, shareholders have a comparable route, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner out at fair value, with a 60-day window to agree on price and terms. A deadlock sale provision in the governing agreement may control if it is properly triggered, so the documents need to be read before any filing.

Delray Beach Real Estate Litigation: Questions Owners and Investors Ask

What is real estate litigation?

It is a lawsuit over rights in land or in a contract to buy, sell, lease, or co-own it. Typical examples include failed closings, deposit fights, title and boundary conflicts, partition, landlord and tenant cases, and disputes among owners of a property-holding entity.

How long do I have to sue over a breached real estate contract in Florida?

For a claim founded on a written contract, the period is five years. Oral or implied contracts carry four years, and a suit to rescind a contract has four. The accrual date and the exact claim matter, so confirm the deadline early rather than assuming the longest period applies.

Can a court force a seller to complete the sale?

Yes. Specific performance is available because land is treated as unique, and the firm’s client obtained that remedy after a bench trial in a commercial case. Be aware that the limitations period for specific performance is one year, and you generally need to show you were ready, willing, and able to close.

What happens to my deposit if a deal falls through?

It depends on the contract’s default and remedy provisions and on who breached. Some contracts let the seller keep the deposit as liquidated damages; others allow a refund or a suit for actual damages. The escrow agent may hold funds until the parties agree or a court decides.

How does a partition case work in Florida?

The complaint describes the land and identifies the owners and their interests. If partition is ordered, the court appoints commissioners who either divide the property or report that division would prejudice the owners, in which case the court can order a public sale and distribute the proceeds proportionally.

Is my inherited family property treated differently in a partition case?

It can be. If the property is tenancy-in-common land acquired at least in part from relatives, with no binding agreement among the cotenants and at least one qualifying condition such as relatives holding 20 percent or more of the interests, the heirs property statute may apply and changes the process and factors a court considers.

What does a quiet title action do?

It asks the court to decide who owns the land and to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title that clouds it. Plaintiffs generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, so a clean chain of recorded documents is central to the case.

Can someone take my property through adverse possession?

It is possible but demanding. The claimant must show continuous, exclusive possession under a claim of title for seven years, and in color of title cases the instrument must have been recorded. A property appraiser return with a full legal description is also required. An owner who learns of a long-term occupant should act before the period runs.

Will a lawsuit freeze the property so the other side cannot sell it or move the money?

Not automatically. A court can enter temporary injunctive relief to stop transfers, spending, or other harm while the case is pending, but you must make the required showing. In urgent situations that application is often the first step, not the last.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to travel to Florida for hearings?

The firm handles local court appearances for out of state clients and keeps them informed at each stage, so most clients do not need to be present for every proceeding. Trials and some mediations may call for your attendance.

Is it worth litigating a dispute over a modest amount?

Sometimes. County court handles claims up to a set ceiling and small claims handle the smallest cases, so the forum and cost structure change with the amount at stake. A frank early assessment of recoverable damages, fees, and the other side’s ability to pay usually decides whether negotiation, mediation, or a lawsuit makes sense.

Serving Real Estate Litigation Clients From Delray Beach Across South Florida

The firm represents property owners and investors in Delray Beach and throughout Palm Beach County, including Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, Highland Beach, Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge, Lantana, Lake Worth Beach, Greenacres, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Riviera Beach. Across the county line in Broward County, the team also serves clients in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Parkland, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and the surrounding communities.

Many of these clients live elsewhere. Owners with condominiums, commercial parcels, rental properties, or shared family real estate in these communities regularly come from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and the firm handles the Florida proceedings so they do not need to be on the ground for every filing.

Speak With a Delray Beach Real Estate Litigation Lawyer

If a closing has collapsed, an owner is refusing to cooperate, or a recorded claim is blocking your title, the sooner the contract, the deadlines, and the available remedies are reviewed, the more options remain. A Delray Beach real estate litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can evaluate your documents, explain which court and which claims fit, and recommend the most efficient path, whether that is negotiation, mediation, or trial. Call the firm today to schedule a consultation.