Hollywood Business Litigation Attorney

Business owners, investors, and co-owners in Hollywood who are weighing whether to sue a partner, defend a claim, or force a buyout are usually making that decision under pressure. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business litigation, partnership and member disputes, complex contract cases, and real estate litigation for clients in Hollywood, throughout Broward County, and across Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida.

If you are searching for a Hollywood business litigation attorney, the first thing to sort out is what kind of dispute you actually have, because the deadlines, the court, and the remedies differ a great deal. A fight over an unpaid contract is a different case from a deadlocked LLC, and both differ from co-owners who cannot agree on a building. Getting the category right early shapes everything that follows, including how quickly you need to move.

Hollywood disputes tend to involve owner-operated companies, commercial leases, investment property, and family-held businesses that have outgrown the handshake arrangements they started with. Cases filed here are heard in Broward County, which sits in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and some business matters may land in federal court in the Southern District of Florida. Knowing which forum fits your claim is part of the work from day one.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Hollywood Business Disputes

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. His career has been built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

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. That pairing matters in Broward County, where a dispute can move between the circuit court and the federal courthouse depending on the parties and the claims.

The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on your matter knows the file and can answer when you call. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and the firm looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Trial experience is part of the record. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of outcome that comes from preparing a contract case down to the precise wording of the agreement and the history of the parties’ dealings.

A significant part of the firm’s work also comes from referrals by other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have disputes in Florida. The firm also serves as outside general counsel and registered agent for companies that want a litigator involved before a disagreement becomes a lawsuit.

Types of Business Disputes We Handle for Hollywood Owners

• Business Divorce: Co-owners who can no longer work together may be dealing with deadlocked management, a buyout fight, a valuation dispute, or a request for judicial dissolution. The right path depends on the entity type and what the governing documents say.
• LLC and Shareholder Agreement Breaches: Operating and shareholder agreements often contain buyout, expulsion, deadlock, and distribution provisions. Disputes frequently turn on how those provisions are read and whether an owner followed them.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Managers, majority owners, and partners owe duties to the company and to other owners. Claims arise when someone self-deals, diverts opportunities, or acts in his or her own interest at the company’s expense.
• Missing Funds and Accounting Claims: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, disputed capital contributions, and partners who cannot account for company money support claims for an accounting and recovery of funds.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and operating agreements all generate disputes where the exact language controls the outcome.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company together, parents and children with different visions, and in-laws who share ownership face questions of control and compensation that carry personal weight alongside the financial stakes.
• Partition and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate who cannot agree can ask a court to divide the property or order it sold. Quiet title actions clear up competing ownership claims and clouds on title.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: When assets are being moved or spent, or a business interest is about to be damaged, temporary and permanent injunctions can hold things in place while the case proceeds.

What to Do When a Business Dispute Reaches Hollywood Litigation Territory

Start by gathering the paper. Pull the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, or contract at issue, along with amendments, bank statements, tax returns, financial statements, and the emails and texts that show how the parties actually behaved. Many disputes turn on the gap between what the document says and how the owners treated each other, so both matter.

Watch the clock. Florida sets different limitations periods depending on the claim. A claim founded on a written contract has five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to a 12-year outer limit. A specific performance action has only one year, which catches people off guard in real estate contract disputes. Professional malpractice claims carry two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Waiting while you hope the relationship repairs itself can quietly cost you a claim.

If money or property is at risk of disappearing, raise that immediately. A court can issue injunctive relief and, in dissolution proceedings, appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing with notice to the parties. Do not move company funds yourself, lock a partner out of accounts, or change the books without advice, because those steps can hand the other side a counterclaim.

On forum, Hollywood cases are filed in Broward County. The circuit court generally hears disputes above the county court ceiling, while smaller claims go to county court, and small claims has its own lower limit. The Seventeenth Circuit operates a complex business division that handles matters such as business entity dissolutions and large business and construction litigation, and a case can be filed directly into it under the circuit’s administrative order. The South Regional Courthouse sits in Hollywood, and the Central Judicial Complex is in Fort Lauderdale. Cases with federal jurisdiction can proceed in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Before filing, check your agreement for mediation or arbitration clauses and for deadlock or buyout mechanics. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a deadlock sale provision in an operating agreement that is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds can take the place of a judicial dissolution order. Skipping a required step in your own agreement is a common and avoidable mistake.

Judicial Dissolution and Forced Buyouts in Florida

When owners cannot continue together, Florida law gives courts tools short of simply shutting a company down. For an LLC, a member or manager can seek dissolution on grounds that include unlawful conduct of the company’s affairs, an inability to reasonably carry on the business under the articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury, or a deadlock among managers or members that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury. In those proceedings the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder can petition for dissolution on several grounds, including that the corporation has abandoned its business and failed within a reasonable time to liquidate and dissolve. Once such a proceeding begins, the corporation must notify the other shareholders within 30 days that they may avoid dissolution by electing to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order on those terms. An election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify or set it aside. Throughout, the court can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve assets.

The practical point is that dissolution is often leverage toward a negotiated buyout rather than the end goal. A skilled Hollywood business divorce lawyer weighs whether the better outcome is a sale of your interest, a purchase of your partner’s, or a wind-down.

Partition and Quiet Title Actions Involving Broward Property

Co-owned real estate generates its own category of disputes. All partition actions in Florida are heard in chancery, and the complaint must describe the land, name the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners, chosen by the parties if they agree. If the commissioners report that the land cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds by ownership interest. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020, and covers tenancy-in-common property where there is no binding partition agreement, a cotenant acquired title from a relative, and another listed condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. In those cases the court generally must consider statutory factors before ordering a partition in kind.

Quiet title actions, by contrast, ask the court to determine ownership and remove clouds on title. A plaintiff generally must trace title for at least seven years before filing, and the action can be filed in any county where part of the land sits. These cases arise from competing deeds, defective conveyances, and claims by people who are not the rightful owner.

Questions Hollywood Business Owners Ask About Litigation

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether partners, LLC members, or shareholders. It can end in a negotiated buyout, a sale, a structured wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution when the owners cannot agree.

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

Five years for a claim founded on a written instrument. Oral and implied contract claims have four years. These periods can change with the facts, so confirm the deadline early rather than assuming you have time.

Can I force a partner out of my LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies for serious misconduct or when the company cannot function. An attorney can review your agreement and explain which options exist.

What can I do if a partner is taking money from the business?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. In urgent situations a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending.

Does every business dispute have to go to court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and the firm’s attorneys are experienced in all three as well as courtroom litigation.

What is the deadline to sue for specific performance of a real estate contract?

One year under Florida law, which is much shorter than the general written-contract period. If a seller or buyer refuses to close and you want the court to compel the transaction, do not wait.

Which court would my Hollywood business case be filed in?

Usually the Broward County circuit court if the amount in controversy exceeds the county court ceiling, or county court for smaller amounts. Certain business cases can be directed into the Seventeenth Circuit’s complex business division, and some can proceed in federal court.

If we have a deadlock clause in our operating agreement, does it override a lawsuit for dissolution?

Often it matters a great deal. If a deadlock sale provision is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds, it can apply in place of a judicial dissolution order, provided it is then carried through. Read the provision before filing.

Can a court appoint someone to run the company while we fight?

In dissolution proceedings, yes. A court may appoint a receiver or custodian, but only after a hearing with notice to the parties, and it will want a showing of sufficient merit.

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

Often, yes, because legal fees should be weighed against what is actually at stake. The firm focuses on cost-effective resolution, and a short review of your documents can tell you whether a demand letter, mediation, or a filed case makes sense.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a stake in a Florida business. Can you help?

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

Serving Business Litigation Clients Across Hollywood and South Florida

The firm represents clients in Hollywood and the surrounding Broward County communities, including Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Cooper City, and Fort Lauderdale. Moving north, we serve owners and investors in Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Lauderhill.

The same representation extends into Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, and throughout South Florida.

Speak With a Hollywood Business Litigation Attorney About Your Dispute

When a partner, co-owner, or counterparty puts your company, your investment, or your property at risk, early advice shapes your options. Whether you need a Hollywood business litigation attorney to evaluate a claim, defend one, or pursue emergency relief, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents and explain where you stand.

Call to discuss your case. Attorneys return calls within 24 hours, and conference calls can be scheduled at times that work for everyone involved.