Florida Breach of Contract Attorney

When a deal goes bad in South Florida, the first question is rarely about law. It is whether the other side’s failure to perform is worth a lawsuit, how long you have to bring one, and whether you are better off negotiating. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles those decisions for business owners, investors, and families across Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County, and Broward County, and for clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who have business or real estate interests here.

If you are looking for a Florida breach of contract attorney, the answer to most of your questions starts with the document itself. Who promised what, in what words, and what happened afterward usually decides whether you have a claim, what it is worth, and which court should hear it. Florida gives you five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an oral or implied one, and those clocks matter far more than most people realize until a deadline is already close.

Breach of contract disputes in this part of the state tend to involve real money and real property: commercial leases in Broward strip centers, purchase and sale agreements for Palm Beach County investment property, operating agreements between LLC members who have stopped speaking, and loan documents that were never paid as written. Each of these has its own pressure points, and the strategy for one rarely fits another.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for a Contract Dispute

The Andrew M. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of founder Andrew M. Schwartz’s work for his entire career. He has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. He is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in state and federal courts.

That experience shows up in how cases are prepared. Contract cases often turn on the precise wording of an agreement and on the history of how the parties actually dealt with one another, so the firm builds each file around the document and the paper trail behind it. The firm practices as a true legal team, which means everyone working on your matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when an attorney is in court and cannot answer right away.

Recent results reflect the kind of work the firm does. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County, the Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome required proving not only that the contract was breached but that money alone would not make the client whole, which is a harder showing than a damages claim.

The firm also values proportionality. Clients often assume they want the most aggressive lawyer available, but most want a cost-effective result that makes sense against the fees spent to reach it. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that serves the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. For out of state clients, the firm handles local court appearances so you do not need to travel for every hearing, and it regularly works with referring counsel from other states and from Florida firms that do not handle business litigation.

Contract Disputes We Handle for South Florida Businesses and Owners

• Operating Agreement and Shareholder Agreement Breaches: Disputes among LLC members and shareholders over distributions, management authority, buyout terms, and restrictions on transferring ownership, often tied to a broader business divorce.
• Commercial Real Estate Purchase and Sale Contracts: Failed closings, disputes over deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and claims for specific performance when a buyer or seller refuses to close on a unique property.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Defaults, unpaid rent, improper termination, build-out and repair obligations, and personal guaranty exposure for tenants and landlords of retail, office, and industrial space.
• Loan Documents and Promissory Notes: Disagreements over default, acceleration, repayment terms, and guaranties between lenders, borrowers, investors, and family members who lent money into a business.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes, defective or incomplete work, and delay claims between owners, contractors, and subcontractors on commercial and residential projects.
• Business Sale and Purchase Agreements: Claims that a seller misrepresented financials or customer relationships, that a buyer failed to pay the agreed price, or that post-closing obligations were ignored.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Company Funds: Contract and fiduciary claims against partners or managers who divert money, commingle accounts, or cannot account for what happened to company funds.
• Oral and Implied Agreements: Handshake deals and course-of-dealing arrangements, which are harder to prove but are enforceable in Florida within a four-year window.

What to Do Right Now If the Other Side Broke the Agreement

Start by locating the signed agreement and every amendment, side letter, and email that touches its terms. Do not rely on a draft or a memory of the deal. Gather the payment records, invoices, texts, and correspondence that show what each side did and when. If the contract contains a notice and cure provision, a dispute resolution clause, an arbitration requirement, or a fee-shifting clause, those terms will shape your next move, and missing a required notice can weaken an otherwise strong claim.

Then work out your deadline. For a claim founded on a written instrument, Florida allows five years. For an oral or implied contract, it is four years. A claim to rescind a contract carries four years, a fraud claim runs four years from discovery with an outer limit of 12 years, and a suit seeking specific performance has just one year. Because these periods differ, a single dispute can involve several clocks at once, and the shortest one may control your strategy. The 2023 reduction of the negligence period to two years did not change the written-contract period, but if your dispute involves a professional’s work, a two-year discovery-based period can apply even when the claim arises from a contract.

Be careful about what you say and sign while you decide. Written admissions, informal side deals, and partial payments accepted under a new arrangement can change the legal picture. If money or property is at risk of disappearing, tell your attorney immediately, because a court can be asked for emergency injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Where the case is filed depends largely on the amount in controversy and the location of the parties or property. Claims above $50,000 belong in circuit court, which in Palm Beach County is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and in Broward County is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Claims between $8,000 and $50,000 are heard in county civil court, and anything smaller falls into small claims. Broward’s Seventeenth Circuit also maintains complex business divisions for large business and construction litigation, which can matter for a high-stakes contract case. Some disputes belong in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, particularly when the parties are from different states and the amount at stake is large enough. This is common for out of state owners with Florida partners.

What a Breach Claim Actually Requires and What You Can Recover

A breach of contract claim has three basic pieces: a valid contract, a material breach by the other party, and damages that resulted. The word material is where many cases are won or lost. A trivial deviation from the agreement may not justify terminating the deal or suing, while a failure that defeats the purpose of the contract usually does. Courts look at the contract’s own language, the parties’ conduct, and whether the breaching party had a chance to fix the problem.

Remedies fall into a few categories. Compensatory damages aim to put you where you would have been had the contract been performed, including lost profits when they can be proved with reasonable certainty. Specific performance orders the other party to actually do what it promised, and it is the remedy courts reserve for unique things, which is why real estate cases are the most common setting. Rescission unwinds the deal and returns the parties to their starting positions, and injunctions can prevent a party from violating restrictive covenants or moving assets before judgment. Many agreements also include attorney’s fee provisions, which can change the economics of a case for either side, so it pays to read that clause before deciding whether to sue or settle.

Defenses are as important as claims. The other side may argue the contract was never validly formed, that you breached first, that its performance was excused, that the claim is time-barred, or that your damages are speculative. A well-prepared case anticipates these arguments from the start rather than reacting to them after the answer is filed.

Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Breach of Contract Claims

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

For a claim founded on a written contract, the period is five years. For an oral or implied contract, it is four years. These are the general rules, and the exact start date of the clock depends on when the breach occurred, so it is worth confirming the timing as early as possible.

Is an oral agreement enforceable in Florida?

Often, yes, but it is harder to prove. Without a written document, the case depends on testimony, texts, emails, payment history, and the parties’ conduct. Certain categories of agreements, such as many real estate transactions, generally need to be in writing to be enforceable, so the type of deal matters.

What is the difference between damages and specific performance?

Damages is a money award meant to compensate you for the loss. Specific performance is a court order requiring the other party to carry out the contract. It is typically available only when money would not be an adequate remedy, as with a unique piece of real property. A suit seeking specific performance has a one-year limitations period, which is much shorter than the period for a damages claim.

Which court will hear my case?

That depends on the amount at stake and where the parties or property are located. Disputes over $50,000 go to circuit court, disputes from $8,000 up to $50,000 go to county civil court, and smaller claims go to small claims court. In South Florida that means the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County and the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County.

Can I recover my attorney’s fees?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing party fee clause, which can work for or against you. Reviewing that language before filing helps you weigh the real risk and reward of litigation.

Do I have to go to court, or can this be resolved another way?

Many contract disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require one of those paths before or instead of a lawsuit. Our attorneys have experience in all of them and pursue the route most likely to meet your goals efficiently.

What if the contract has an arbitration clause?

If you agreed to arbitrate, a court will generally send the dispute to arbitration instead of letting it proceed as a lawsuit. The clause may also limit discovery, appeals, and the choice of decision-maker, so it is worth understanding before you file anything in court.

My business partner breached our operating agreement. Is that the same as a breach of contract case?

It is a contract claim, but it often comes with others. Breach of an operating or shareholder agreement frequently overlaps with breach of fiduciary duty, claims for an accounting, and in some cases judicial dissolution of the company. Florida law allows a court to dissolve an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, or when company assets are being misappropriated or wasted.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Can I pursue a Florida contract dispute without moving here?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose counterparties or property are in South Florida. We handle the Florida filings and court appearances and keep you informed so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

What if I signed a contract but the other side was never going to perform?

That can support a claim for fraud or rescission in addition to breach, depending on what was represented and when. A fraud action runs four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years, and a rescission action runs four years, so the facts about what the other side knew and when you learned it become important.

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

It can be, particularly when the contract has a fee-shifting clause, when the same counterparty may breach again, or when the amount affects your business’s cash flow. A candid early review of the agreement and the evidence helps you decide whether the claim justifies the cost, and sometimes a well-drafted demand letter resolves the matter without a filing.

Serving Contract Dispute Clients Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

Our breach of contract work begins in Boca Raton and extends throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Lantana, Highland Beach, and Belle Glade. Palm Beach County cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, and we also appear in federal court in West Palm Beach when a dispute belongs there.

We represent clients throughout Broward County as well, from Deerfield Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, and Pompano Beach down through Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Davie, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and Weston. Broward cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, including its complex business divisions, and in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Whether the dispute involves a shopping center lease, a development deal, or a partnership agreement between owners in different states, we handle the local proceedings so clients across the region and beyond can protect their interests.

Speak With a Florida Breach of Contract Lawyer Before Your Deadline Runs

A contract dispute rarely improves with waiting. Evidence fades, limitations periods run, and assets can move. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of litigation experience to contract cases for clients across Palm Beach County, Broward County, and South Florida. If you are weighing whether to sue, respond to a demand, or negotiate a way out, call to speak with a Florida breach of contract lawyer about your agreement, your timeline, and the most practical path forward. We answer the phone, and if we are in court, you will hear back within 24 hours.