Lantana Contract Litigation Attorney

Getting a broken contract enforced, or getting out from under a claim that should never have been brought, usually comes down to what the document says and what the parties actually did. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles Lantana contract litigation for business owners, investors, and families, serving Lantana and the rest of Palm Beach County, along with Broward County and clients across South Florida.

Contract disputes rarely announce themselves politely. A supplier stops delivering, a buyer walks away from a closing, a partner reads the operating agreement one way while you read it another, or a lender calls a default you believe never happened. Each of these turns on specific wording, the history of dealings between the parties, and a limitations clock that begins running before most people realize they have a lawsuit.

Our firm also represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in this part of Florida. If you are one of them, we handle the local court appearances so you are not flying in for every hearing.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Contract 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 at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of his practice for his entire career, including purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts.

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 the right forum for a dispute is sometimes a Florida circuit court and sometimes federal court, and the firm is comfortable in both.

One result speaks directly to this kind of work. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Getting a court to order a party to actually perform, rather than simply pay damages, takes careful preparation of the contract language and the evidence of the parties’ dealings. No attorney can guarantee a result, but that is the level of detail we bring to every file.

The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on your matter knows the file and can answer when you call. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court. We are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we look for the resolution that serves your goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. A good share of our matters also come from other attorneys who refer clients to us, including out of state counsel whose clients have disputes in Florida.

Types of Contract Disputes We Litigate

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings on commercial or residential property, buyers who refuse to close, sellers who try to walk away after a better offer, and disputes over deposits, inspection contingencies, and financing conditions. Remedies can include damages or an order compelling the sale to go forward.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Fights over buyout formulas, transfer restrictions, voting rights, distributions, and what a member or shareholder owes the others. These disputes often overlap with fiduciary duty claims and with dissolution proceedings.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Rent obligations, personal guaranties, build-out responsibilities, use restrictions, renewal options, and early termination. Retail, office, and warehouse landlords and tenants around Lantana and the neighboring coastal and inland communities all generate these cases.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Alleged defaults, acceleration of a note, guaranty enforcement, and disagreements over what a lender promised before closing.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes between owners, contractors, and subcontractors, change-order fights, defective or incomplete work, and delays that push a project past its deadline.
• Business Sale and Transition Agreements: Earn-outs, non-compete and non-solicitation terms, representations about the company’s finances, and disputes after a founder sells to a partner or outside buyer.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Missing Funds: When a partner or manager diverts money, commingles accounts, or cannot account for company funds, the contract claim usually travels with a request for an accounting and, where assets are at risk, emergency injunctive relief.
• Family and Friend Business Agreements: Handshake deals and loosely written arrangements between relatives or longtime friends, where the proof of the bargain depends on conduct, emails, and payment history.

What to Do Once You Think a Contract Has Been Breached

Start by pulling together everything that defines the deal: the signed agreement and every amendment, the emails and texts leading up to it, invoices, payment records, and any notices exchanged since the problem began. Do not rely on memory of what was promised. Courts look at the written terms first, and many agreements contain provisions on notice, cure periods, venue, governing law, attorney’s fees, and arbitration that decide how the dispute must proceed. Missing a notice-and-cure step can cost you a claim you would otherwise win.

Then watch the calendar. Florida gives you five years to sue on a contract founded on a written instrument, and four years for an oral or implied contract. A claim seeking to rescind a contract has a four-year period. Fraud generally runs four years from discovery, with an outer limit of twelve years. A specific performance claim carries a one-year period, which is the one that catches people off guard, so a buyer or seller trying to force a closing cannot sit on the claim. If the underlying wrong is framed as professional malpractice, the period is two years from when it was or should have been discovered. Because the right label on the claim controls the deadline, have the facts reviewed early rather than assuming you have years.

Stop making things worse on your own. Do not send angry messages that concede points, do not stop performing your own side of the contract without advice, and do not move money or assets in a way that looks retaliatory. If you believe the other side is draining accounts or transferring property, tell your lawyer immediately, because emergency relief to freeze the situation is time-sensitive.

On where the case will be heard: Lantana is in Palm Beach County, so most contract suits land in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Claims above the county court limit are filed in circuit court at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, while smaller claims go to county civil court, and small claims remain capped at a much lower figure. Disputes with a Broward County counterparty may belong in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward, which has a complex business division that hears large business and construction litigation. When the parties are from different states and the amount is large enough, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, can be an option. Choosing the right court, and honoring any forum clause in the contract, is part of the strategy from day one.

Most disputes can be resolved before trial. Many agreements require mediation or arbitration first, and even when they do not, a well-timed demand letter backed by a credible litigation plan often produces a negotiated outcome. We will tell you honestly when settlement makes sense and when the case needs to be tried.

How Courts Decide Contract Cases and What Remedies Are Available

A contract case generally comes down to four questions: was there an enforceable agreement, what did it require, did a party fail to perform, and what loss resulted. The first two are where most fights occur. When wording is ambiguous, courts consider the parties’ course of dealing, prior drafts, and industry custom. That is why we build the factual record carefully, rather than treating the document as the whole story.

Money damages are the usual remedy, aimed at putting the injured party where full performance would have left it. But damages do not always fix the problem. When the subject of the contract is unique, as real property is, a court sitting in equity can order specific performance and compel the breaching party to close. Where a party is about to violate a restrictive covenant or dispose of assets, a temporary or permanent injunction may be the more valuable tool. Rescission, an accounting, and recovery of misappropriated funds round out the options, and many agreements also shift attorney’s fees to the prevailing party, which changes the economics of a fight in both directions.

Contract disputes between co-owners deserve special mention. When a breach of an operating or shareholder agreement cannot be repaired, Florida law offers court-supervised remedies. A member or manager can seek judicial dissolution of an LLC on grounds such as deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of company assets, or the impracticability of operating under the agreement. A court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member. For corporations, a shareholder petition can trigger the corporation’s or other shareholders’ right to elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value, with a 60-day window to agree on terms before the court sets them. If the agreement contains its own deadlock sale mechanism, that mechanism can take priority once it is properly initiated. We evaluate these paths alongside the straight breach claim so the remedy fits the real goal, whether that is staying in the business or getting out fairly.

Contract Litigation Questions Lantana Clients Ask

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. The 2023 changes to Florida’s limitations statute shortened the negligence period but did not change the written contract period.

What is the deadline if the agreement was oral?

Four years. Oral and implied contract claims are harder to prove, so preserve texts, emails, payment records, and the names of anyone who witnessed the deal.

Can I force someone to complete a sale instead of just paying me damages?

Possibly. Courts can order specific performance of a contract for unique property, such as real estate. That claim has a one-year limitations period, so it should not wait.

Which court will hear my case?

It depends on the amount and the parties. County civil court handles claims up to the county court limit, circuit court handles larger ones, and small claims covers the smallest disputes. For Palm Beach County cases, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit is the circuit court. Federal court may apply when the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy is high enough.

What if my contract says disputes must go to arbitration?

Florida courts generally enforce valid arbitration clauses, so you would typically proceed in arbitration rather than a lawsuit. We have experience in arbitration as well as courtroom litigation and can review the clause for scope, procedure, and any pre-suit steps.

Will I recover my attorney’s fees if I win?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for fees. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party clause, which means you could also be exposed to the other side’s fees if you lose. We review that language before recommending a strategy.

What if the other side is moving money or assets while we argue?

You can ask the court for a temporary injunction or other emergency relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the case is pending. Gather whatever evidence you have of the transfers and contact us right away.

My business partner breached our operating agreement. Do I have to sue, or can I exit?

Not necessarily either. Depending on the agreement, there may be buyout, expulsion, or deadlock sale provisions. If those fail, Florida law allows court-supervised dissolution or a purchase of your interest in certain circumstances. We look at the agreement first.

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

Sometimes. If the amount falls within small claims or county court, the cost of litigation may outweigh recovery unless the agreement shifts fees. A candid early assessment of cost against realistic recovery is part of how we advise clients.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to come to Florida for the case?

Not for every proceeding. We handle local court appearances and keep you informed, and many conferences can be arranged by phone. Some events, such as a trial, may require your testimony.

Can a breach of contract claim also be a fraud claim?

It can be when someone induced the deal with knowingly false statements. Fraud has its own limitations rules, generally four years from discovery with a twelve-year outer limit, and it may open additional remedies, so the facts need to be evaluated claim by claim.

How does a family business dispute differ from an ordinary contract case?

The law is the same, but the agreements are often informal and the relationships are on the line. We handle these cases with discretion while still protecting your financial position.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across Lantana and South Florida

We represent clients in Lantana and throughout Palm Beach County, including Lake Worth Beach, Palm Springs, Greenacres, Boynton Beach, Hypoluxo, Manalapan, Ocean Ridge, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Riviera Beach. Our reach continues south into Broward County, where we serve Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Plantation, Hollywood, and the surrounding communities.

Whether the dispute involves a commercial lease in a neighborhood shopping center, a construction contract on a waterfront project, or an operating agreement for a company with partners in two states, we litigate in the courts where those cases belong. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida are part of our regular practice as well.

Talk to a Lantana Contract Dispute Attorney

If a contract has been broken, or you have been accused of breaking one, the earlier someone reads the document and the paper trail, the more options you keep. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of South Florida litigation experience to every file, and our Lantana contract dispute attorney team will give you a straight assessment of your claim, your deadline, and the most efficient route to resolution. Call us to schedule a consultation.