Lantana Business Transactions Attorney

A good business deal is one where both sides know exactly what they signed, the money moves when it should, and nobody is arguing about it three years later. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that helps owners, investors, and families in Lantana get a Lantana business transactions attorney involved early enough to build deals that hold up, and to enforce them when they do not. We represent clients in Lantana, the rest of Palm Beach County, and neighboring Broward County, along with out of state owners who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida.

Business transactions and business disputes are closer together than most people expect. The purchase agreement you negotiate today is the document a judge reads if the relationship breaks down later. Because our lawyers spend their days in litigation, we draft and review deals with an eye on how each clause would be argued in a courtroom.

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

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 holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami. His career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone assigned to your file knows it, and a call to the office reaches someone who can answer. If our lawyers are in court, the firm’s strict 24 hour return call policy applies.

For transaction clients, that litigation background is the point. In November 2024 the firm reported a result in which, after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment granting our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. A court ordered the other side to complete the deal as written. We carry the lesson from cases like that into every contract we draft: precise wording and a clear record of the parties’ dealings decide outcomes.

Our clients also value the firm’s practical approach. We look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget, whether that is a negotiated fix, mediation, arbitration, or a courtroom judgment, rather than stretching a matter out for its own sake.

Deals and Documents Our Business Transactions Work Covers

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Buying or selling a Lantana business, a commercial parcel, or an ownership stake turns on the contract’s definitions, closing conditions, and what happens if one side walks away. We draft and negotiate these with failed-closing scenarios in mind.
• Operating Agreements and Shareholder Agreements: These documents decide who controls the company, how profits are split, and how an owner can exit. Weak or missing buyout and deadlock provisions are the root of many business divorces we later see in court.
• Commercial Leases: Retail, office, and industrial tenants and landlords near Lantana rely on lease terms covering rent, maintenance, defaults, and renewal. We review and negotiate them before signing and handle landlord and tenant disputes afterward.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Personal guaranties and security terms can expose an owner’s personal assets. We review these provisions so clients understand what they are actually putting at risk.
• Construction Contracts: Scope, payment schedules, and change-order language drive disputes on building and renovation projects. Clear drafting up front limits arguments later.
• Real Estate Transactions: Our work covers commercial and residential real estate purchases and sales, plus title questions, including quiet title actions when competing ownership claims cloud a property.
• Outside General Counsel Services: Through our general counsel program, the firm serves as a company’s registered agent and handles the recurring contract, compliance, and operational questions that arise in running a business.
• Family and Closely Held Business Arrangements: Ownership shared among siblings, spouses, or friends benefits from written terms on control, compensation, and succession before disagreements start.

What to Do Before Signing, and What to Do When a Deal Goes Wrong

If you have not signed yet, stop and get the full document in front of a lawyer. Term sheets, letters of intent, and emailed summaries can carry binding obligations, so do not assume the “real” contract comes later. Ask for every exhibit, schedule, and referenced agreement. Pay particular attention to exit terms, because buyout formulas, valuation methods, and deadlock procedures are far easier to negotiate before the parties are angry.

If a deal has already soured, preserve the paper trail. Keep the signed agreement, drafts, emails, texts, invoices, bank records, and anything showing how the parties actually performed. Do not delete messages, and do not move or spend disputed funds on your own. If you suspect a partner is diverting money, tell your lawyer quickly, since a court can be asked for emergency relief to stop assets from being moved while the case is pending.

Deadlines matter, and they differ by claim. A suit on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while claims on oral or implied agreements have four. An action to rescind a contract has four years, and a fraud claim runs four years from discovery, subject to an outer cap of 12 years. A request for specific performance, the remedy that compels a party to complete a deal, carries a one-year period. These clocks can run alongside one another, so have a lawyer date your claims before you assume you have time.

Where a case is filed depends on the amount at stake and the kind of claim. In Palm Beach County, which sits in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, county court handles civil claims up to the statutory ceiling and circuit court takes larger ones, along with matters such as partition, injunctions, and entity dissolution. Because the firm also serves Broward County, we know that the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit maintains complex business divisions for large commercial litigation. Federal cases involving diverse parties or federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

The most common mistake we see is a handshake or a template. Owners reuse a form agreement from the internet, skip the buyout clause, and discover the gap only when a partner stops cooperating. The second is waiting: sitting on a claim while a deadline quietly runs out.

When a Transaction Becomes a Dispute Between Owners

Some of the hardest problems begin as ordinary deals. Two people form an LLC, one stops contributing, and the company stalls. Florida law gives members and managers a path to court when it is no longer reasonably practicable to run the company under its operating agreement, when owners are deadlocked and the company faces irreparable injury, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when those in control are acting illegally or fraudulently. A court may also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest.

Your operating agreement can change this picture. A deadlock sale provision that is properly triggered before the court finds deadlock grounds can take the place of a dissolution order. For corporations, shareholders who petition for dissolution can face a counter-move: the corporation or other shareholders may elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. That election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. The takeaway for dealmakers is simple: drafting a clear exit mechanism now is usually cheaper than litigating valuation later.

Co-owned real estate raises its own questions. When owners cannot agree on a property, partition lets a court divide it or, if division would harm the owners, order a sale at public auction with proceeds shared by ownership interest. Inherited property held among relatives may be governed by the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which adds protections before a forced sale. Competing ownership claims can be resolved through a quiet title action, which asks the court to cancel a conflicting claim and remove the cloud on title.

Questions Lantana Business Owners Ask About Transactions

What does a business transactions attorney actually do?

A business transactions attorney helps you structure, negotiate, draft, and review the agreements that govern a company’s deals. That includes buying or selling a business, forming ownership arrangements, signing leases, and documenting loans or vendor relationships. At our firm, the same lawyers who litigate contract disputes advise on transactions.

Why use a litigation firm for deal work?

Litigators see how contracts fail. We know which vague phrases end up in front of judges and which missing clauses cause the most expensive fights. That perspective helps us write agreements that are clearer and harder to attack.

How long do I have to sue over a broken contract in Florida?

For a contract founded on a written instrument, the limitations period is five years. For oral or implied contracts it is four years. Rescission claims have four years, and fraud claims are four years from discovery, with a 12-year outer limit. A specific performance action has a one-year period. The right clock depends on how your claim is framed, so confirm it with counsel.

Did the 2023 change to Florida’s negligence deadline affect contract claims?

No. The 2023 legislation shortened the general negligence period from four years to two, but it left the five-year written-contract period and the four-year intentional-tort period in place. Contract and negligence claims are treated separately, though a single dispute can involve both.

Can a court force someone to complete a deal?

In appropriate cases, yes. Specific performance is a remedy that orders a party to carry out the contract rather than just pay damages, and it is most common with unique assets such as real property. Our firm obtained a final judgment granting specific performance of a commercial real estate contract following a bench trial in Broward County. The request must be brought within one year, so timing is critical.

What should an operating agreement include to prevent future disputes?

At minimum it should address management authority, capital contributions, distributions, transfer restrictions, a buyout mechanism with a valuation method, and a way to break deadlocks. Gaps in these areas are a frequent source of business divorces.

What happens if my business partner is taking company money?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. Where assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can be asked for injunctive relief while the case proceeds. Gather bank statements and ledgers before confronting anyone.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a small transaction?

Often yes, because the cost of a clean agreement is usually far below the cost of fighting over a poor one. Small deals can also carry large personal exposure through guaranties and indemnity clauses. A focused contract review can be a modest, practical step.

I live out of state. Can you handle a Lantana transaction or dispute?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida. We handle local court appearances, keep you informed, and arrange scheduled conference calls so you do not need to travel for every proceeding.

Do transaction disputes always end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and many contracts require one of those steps first. Our attorneys are experienced in alternative dispute resolution as well as trial work, and we choose the path that best serves your goals and budget.

Do you work with other lawyers on transactions or disputes?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state counsel whose clients have Florida matters. We keep referring counsel informed and respect their relationship with the client.

Serving Lantana and Surrounding South Florida Business Clients

We start with Lantana and the Palm Beach County communities around it, including Lake Worth Beach, Hypoluxo, Manalapan, Atlantis, Palm Springs, Greenacres, and Boynton Beach. Our work extends north through West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, and Palm Beach Gardens, and south through Delray Beach, Highland Beach, and Boca Raton.

We also represent business owners and investors across Broward County, from Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, and Coconut Creek to Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Davie, Coral Springs, and Hollywood. Many of our clients run companies or hold property in these communities while living in the New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut area, and we handle the Florida side of their transactions and disputes.

Speak With a Lantana Business Transactions Lawyer

If you are about to sign, or you are already in a dispute over a deal, a conversation with a Lantana business transactions lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify where you stand and what to do next. We will review your documents, explain your options plainly, and recommend the approach that fits your goals and budget.

Call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to schedule a consultation. We answer the phone, and if we are in court, we return your call within 24 hours.