Florida Contract Litigation Attorney

A signed agreement that one side has stopped honoring can freeze a deal, a lease, a partnership, or a closing, and the clock on your claim is already running. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate contract disputes for clients in Palm Beach County and Broward County, and for owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose agreements are tied to South Florida. If you are looking for a Florida contract litigation attorney, the first thing to pin down is what the contract actually says, what the parties actually did, and how much time remains to act.

Contract cases are won and lost on specifics: the exact wording of a purchase agreement, the sequence of emails that modified a deadline, the payment history that either supports or undercuts a claim of waiver. Our work centers on the high-stakes agreements that businesses and investors depend on: purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a South Florida litigation firm that represents business owners, investors, and families in contract, partnership, and real estate disputes across Palm Beach County and Broward County, as well as Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of founder Andrew M. Schwartz’s practice for his entire career. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989.

Andrew 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. That matters for contract work, because a dispute can land in a Florida circuit court or, depending on the parties, in federal court. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it, and we keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court and cannot pick up right away.

A recent result shows what this work looks like at trial. After a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. We are also experienced in 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 cases come to us as referrals from other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have disputes in Florida.

Kinds of Contract Disputes We Litigate

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings, disputes over deposits, and buyers or sellers who walk away from a signed deal. These cases can end in damages or, as in our Broward County trial result, a court order compelling the sale to go forward.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Breaches of buyout terms, distribution rights, management duties, and deadlock provisions among LLC members and shareholders, often alongside fiduciary duty claims.
• Commercial Leases: Disputes over rent, build-out obligations, defaults, early termination, and landlord and tenant responsibilities in retail, office, and industrial space.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Defaults, guaranty disputes, and disagreements about repayment terms between lenders, borrowers, and investors.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes, scope changes, delay claims, and defective work between owners, contractors, and subcontractors.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Claims where money owed under an agreement was diverted, commingled, or never paid, which may support an accounting, a fiduciary duty claim, or recovery of the funds.
• Emergency Relief: Cases where waiting for a final judgment would let assets disappear or a business be damaged, calling for a temporary or permanent injunction.

What to Do Once a Contract Falls Apart

Start by gathering the whole paper trail, not only the signed agreement. Collect amendments, side letters, emails, text messages, invoices, bank records, and anything showing how the parties really performed. Courts look at the agreement’s words first, but the history of dealings often decides ambiguous terms and arguments about waiver or modification. Do not delete anything, and avoid new written exchanges with the other side that characterize the dispute until you have talked to a lawyer.

Next, check your deadlines. Florida gives five years to sue on a contract founded on a written instrument, and four years for oral or implied contracts. An action to rescind a contract has four years, a fraud claim runs four years from discovery with a 12 year outer limit, and a claim for specific performance has just one year. That last deadline surprises people, especially in real estate deals where the goal is to compel the sale itself. If your claim is really a professional malpractice claim dressed as a contract claim, the period is two years from when it was or should have been discovered. Recent changes to the negligence deadline did not touch the five-year written contract period, but the labels matter, so have a lawyer classify the claim before you assume which clock applies.

Then think about where the case will be filed. In Palm Beach County, circuit court sits in West Palm Beach under the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. In Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit sits in Fort Lauderdale, and it has a complex business division for large business and construction litigation. Smaller disputes may belong in county court, which handles claims up to a set ceiling that the legislature adjusts periodically, with small claims court below that. Federal court in West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale may be available when the parties are from different states and the legal requirements are met, which comes up often with our New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut clients.

Finally, resist the two common mistakes: sending an angry demand letter that admits facts you will later need to contest, and waiting so long that a delay is argued as acceptance of the breach. A measured demand, preserved evidence, and an early assessment of whether you need emergency relief put you in the strongest position. Call our team before you respond to the other side.

How Florida Contract Cases Are Won on the Details

Most contract disputes are not about whether a contract exists. They turn on what it requires and whether each side did its part. Who breached first can control who gets to enforce the agreement at all. Notice and cure provisions, which require a written warning and a chance to fix a problem, are often enforced strictly, and skipping them can sink an otherwise strong claim. Attorney fee clauses can shift the cost of the whole case, so we read for them early and plan around them.

The remedy matters as much as the breach. Money damages fit many disputes, but unique property, such as a particular commercial parcel, may call for specific performance. Where a partner or counterparty is moving money or assets, an injunction can preserve what you are fighting over. Where the agreement is an operating or shareholder agreement, the contract dispute often overlaps with dissolution, buyout rights, and fiduciary duties, and the court has tools such as receivers and custodians. Choosing the right remedy at the outset shapes the entire case.

We also take mediation and arbitration seriously. Many agreements contain arbitration clauses, and many disputes settle at mediation once each side understands the documents. We prepare every case as if it will be tried, because that preparation is what produces a good settlement.

Questions About Florida Contract Litigation

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

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument. Oral and implied contracts get four years. Other claims tied to the same dispute, such as rescission, fraud, or specific performance, have their own periods, so the shorter one may control your strategy.

What is specific performance, and why is its deadline so short?

Specific performance is a court order requiring a party to carry out the contract, most often to close on a property sale. Florida allows only one year to bring that action, which is why delay in real estate disputes can cost you the remedy even when a damages claim is still open.

Can I recover my attorney’s fees in a contract case?

Often only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a fee clause, and some make it mutual. Check yours before filing, because it affects both your risk and your settlement leverage.

Which court will hear my case in Palm Beach or Broward County?

Larger claims go to circuit court, and smaller ones to county court within its monetary ceiling. Palm Beach County cases fall under the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit and Broward County cases under the Seventeenth. Some Broward business disputes can be directed to its complex business division.

Can a contract dispute end up in federal court?

It can, when the legal requirements for federal jurisdiction are met, such as parties from different states with enough at stake. The Southern District of Florida covers Palm Beach and Broward Counties and holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Does a contract have to be in writing to be enforceable?

Not always. Oral and implied contracts can be enforced in Florida, though they are harder to prove and carry the shorter four-year period. Certain types of agreements, such as many real estate deals, generally need to be in writing.

What if the other side stopped performing but I also missed a deadline?

That is common. A prior breach by you does not automatically end your claim, but it can become a defense. We look at who breached first, whether the other side waived the requirement, and whether any notice and cure steps were followed.

Can I get an injunction while the case is pending?

Yes, in appropriate cases. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to stop assets from being moved or a business from being harmed during litigation. Emergency relief depends on the facts and requires prompt action.

My contract has an arbitration clause. Can I still go to court?

Usually the clause controls, and a court will send the dispute to arbitration if it applies. We review the clause’s scope, its rules, and any exceptions, and our attorneys are experienced in arbitration as well as courtroom litigation.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to travel for every hearing?

No. We handle the local court appearances and keep you informed at each stage, so you can protect your interests without flying down for every proceeding.

Is a contract case worth pursuing if the amount is modest?

Sometimes the better route is a negotiated resolution or mediation rather than a full trial. We weigh the amount at stake, the cost of litigating, and any fee-shifting clause before recommending a path, since good judgment on cost is part of the job.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across South Florida

We represent clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade. In Broward County, we serve Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Plantation, Sunrise, Hollywood, and the surrounding communities. Across both counties, we handle contract disputes for local business owners, investors, and families, and for owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners, tenants, or counterparties are here.

Speak With a Florida Contract Litigation Lawyer

If a contract dispute is putting your business, your investment, or your property at risk, a conversation early on can shape everything that follows. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of litigation experience to contract cases across Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Call us to talk with a Florida contract litigation lawyer about your agreement, your deadlines, and your options.