Hollywood Business Transactions Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team advises Hollywood business owners, investors, and families on the deals that define a company, including purchase and sale agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and the real estate that often sits underneath them, and it steps into court when one of those deals goes wrong. As a Hollywood business transactions attorney team serving Broward County and the surrounding South Florida communities, the firm treats the contract as the most important piece of evidence a dispute will ever have, and it is best written before anyone is arguing about it.

The reason to involve a litigator in a transaction is simple. Most business disputes are decided by what the paper says, how it was negotiated, and how the parties behaved afterward. A clause that seemed like boilerplate at closing can decide who controls a company, who owes whom, or whether a buyer is entitled to a property. Deals drafted with that outcome in mind tend to hold up under pressure, and the same goes for deals that never get tested at all.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in business and real estate matters across Broward County and Palm Beach County, including Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach. That litigation background shapes how the firm approaches a deal.

Andrew M. Schwartz, Founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, with a career built around complex contract disputes and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is 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 a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court or otherwise unavailable.

The firm’s results show what careful contract work can accomplish. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome turned on the language of the agreement and the parties’ dealings, which is exactly the level of detail the firm brings to drafting and negotiating on the front end. The firm also offers outside general counsel services, including serving as a company’s registered agent, so business clients can get contract, compliance, and operational advice before a question becomes a dispute. Its 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.

Transactions and Agreements We Handle for Hollywood Businesses

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Buying or selling a business turns on the representations, warranties, indemnities, and closing conditions. Sloppy drafting here is a common source of later claims, including failed closings and disputes over what was actually promised.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: These documents decide management authority, capital contributions, distributions, transfer restrictions, and buyout terms. A deadlock sale provision or a clear valuation method written at the start can spare owners a judicial dissolution fight later.
• Commercial Leases: Hollywood retailers, restaurants, and office tenants depend on lease terms covering rent escalations, build-out obligations, assignment rights, and default remedies. The same is true for landlords protecting an investment property.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Promissory notes, security agreements, and personal guaranties can expose an owner’s personal assets. Reading them before signing is far cheaper than defending a collection claim afterward.
• Construction and Contractor Agreements: Scope, payment schedules, change orders, and delay provisions determine who bears the cost when a project runs over, and these contracts are often litigated line by line.
• Real Estate Purchase and Sale Contracts: Commercial and residential contracts carry deadlines, contingencies, and deposit provisions that decide whether a buyer can force a closing or a seller can keep a deposit.
• Co-Ownership and Partnership Arrangements: Investors who buy property or run a venture together need written terms on exits, because without them a co-owner may end up asking a court to partition the property or dissolve the business.
• Family and Friend-Run Businesses: Companies owned by siblings, spouses, or longtime friends often run on handshake understandings. Putting roles, compensation, and succession in writing protects both the relationships and the company.

How to Protect a Deal Before and After You Sign

The most useful thing a business owner can do is have the agreement reviewed before signing, not after a problem appears. Bring the full document, including every exhibit and schedule, along with the emails and term sheets that preceded it. Florida courts read contracts according to their words, and a signed agreement usually supersedes earlier discussions, so a promise made verbally during negotiations that never made it into the final text is difficult to enforce. If something mattered to you, it belongs in the document.

If a deal has already gone wrong, preserve everything: signed agreements, amendments, correspondence, invoices, bank records, and any notices sent or received. Follow the notice and cure provisions in the contract exactly, since many agreements require written notice of default and an opportunity to fix the problem before a party can sue. Avoid making admissions in casual emails or texts, and do not stop performing your own obligations without advice, because a breach on your side can undermine a strong claim.

Deadlines matter and they vary by claim type. A lawsuit founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while claims on oral or implied agreements have four years. Rescission claims have four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. Specific performance, the remedy that forces a party to complete a deal, carries a much shorter one-year period, which is why a buyer who waits to see whether a seller will come around can lose the right to compel a closing. Professional malpractice claims run two years from when the problem was or should have been discovered. Because the period for a given claim is not always obvious, getting a lawyer involved early removes the risk of missing it.

Where a dispute lands depends on the amount at stake. Claims above $50,000 belong in circuit court, which for Hollywood means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit sitting in and for Broward County, while smaller claims fall to the county court. The Seventeenth Circuit also operates complex business divisions that handle large business and construction litigation and certain business entity dissolutions, and a qualifying case can be filed directly into those divisions. Hollywood residents also have a Broward County courthouse in their own city that hears county civil matters. Disputes that qualify can also be heard in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

When Deals Fail: Dissolution, Buyouts, and Injunctions

Sometimes the transaction was sound and the relationship was not. Florida law gives co-owners real remedies when a company cannot function. Under the LLC statute, a court may dissolve a limited liability company when a member or manager shows that its affairs are being conducted unlawfully, that it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, that controlling members are acting illegally or fraudulently, that assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or that managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened or occurring. A court considering these claims can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving the company.

Corporations follow a parallel framework. A shareholder may petition a circuit court for dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value to avoid dissolution. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order directing the purchase. The corporation must notify the other shareholders of that buyout option within 30 days of a dissolution case beginning. Courts in these cases can also issue injunctions and preserve assets while the case is pending.

This is why the buy-sell and deadlock provisions in an operating or shareholder agreement are among the most valuable pages in any business document. A properly drafted deadlock sale mechanism that is initiated before a court finds deadlock grounds can govern the outcome in place of a judicial dissolution order. Where money is moving out of a company improperly, the firm also pursues accountings, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and emergency injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case proceeds.

Questions Hollywood Business Owners Ask About Transactions

What does a business transactions attorney actually do?

A business transactions attorney drafts, reviews, and negotiates the agreements that govern how a company is formed, financed, bought, sold, leased, and run. That includes purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, leases, loan documents, and vendor or construction contracts, along with advice on how those documents allocate risk between the parties.

Why use a firm that also litigates?

Lawyers who try contract cases see how agreements fail in practice, which clauses are ambiguous, and which gaps lead to expensive disputes. That perspective improves drafting. The firm’s litigation experience informs how it protects clients on the transactional side.

Is a verbal agreement enforceable in Florida?

Some oral agreements are enforceable, and Florida allows four years to sue on a contract that is not founded on a written instrument. But oral deals are hard to prove, and certain agreements, such as many involving real estate, generally need to be in writing. Written terms are far safer.

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

Five years under Florida law for an action founded on a written instrument. Specific performance, which asks a court to compel completion of the deal, has a shorter one-year period, so a buyer who wants to force a closing should not wait.

Can I have my existing operating agreement reviewed?

Yes. Reviewing an existing agreement is often the best use of a lawyer’s time. We look at management authority, transfer restrictions, buyout and expulsion provisions, deadlock mechanisms, and dispute resolution clauses, and we flag gaps before they become disputes.

What happens if my business partner and I deadlock?

It depends on your agreement. If it contains a deadlock sale or buyout provision, that process may control. If not, Florida law allows a court to dissolve an LLC or corporation on statutory grounds, and the court may order a buyout or appoint a receiver or custodian instead.

Do I need a lawyer to buy or sell a small business in Hollywood?

The smaller the business, the more the deal tends to depend on a few documents and personal promises, and the less room there is to absorb a mistake. Allocation of liabilities, indemnities, and what happens if the buyer defaults all deserve legal review regardless of price.

My co-owner and I disagree about a property we own together. What are my options?

Negotiate a buyout or sale, or ask a court for partition. In Florida, partition may divide the property or order it sold with proceeds shared by ownership interest, and heirs property has its own statutory protections. The firm handles partition and title disputes, including quiet title actions.

Can a dispute be resolved without a trial?

Often, yes. Many disputes resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The firm has experience in each and also in courtroom litigation, so the choice of forum is driven by what serves the client’s goals and budget.

I live out of state but own a business or property in Broward County. 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 clients informed so they do not need to travel for every hearing.

Does the firm work with other attorneys on referrals?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s practice comes from other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes, and the firm communicates with referring counsel throughout the matter.

Serving Hollywood Business Transactions Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

Our work for Hollywood clients extends throughout Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Plantation, Sunrise, Weston, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Lauderhill, Tamarac, and Oakland Park. We also serve clients across Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach to West Palm Beach, as well as business owners and investors from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold interests in South Florida. Whether the matter involves a closing on a Hollywood commercial property, a restaurant lease, a partnership agreement, or a purchase of a company, the firm handles it with attention to the contract language that will decide any later disagreement.

Speak With a Hollywood Business Transactions Lawyer

If you are preparing to sign an agreement, restructure ownership, or work through a deal that has stalled, a conversation with a Hollywood business transactions lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify where you stand and what the paper actually says. Call to schedule a consultation and bring the documents you have. We return calls within 24 hours and will work with you on a plan that fits your goals and your budget.