Lauderhill Contract Litigation Attorney

The deadline to sue over a broken contract in Florida is not one number, and the difference between four years, five years, and one year can decide whether a strong claim survives. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for clients in Lauderhill, throughout Broward County, and across Palm Beach County, and contract enforcement sits at the center of that work. A Lauderhill contract litigation attorney has to know which clock applies to which kind of claim before anything else about the case matters.

Contract cases in this part of South Florida rarely look alike. A commercial lease between a landlord and a restaurant operator, a purchase agreement for a small business, an operating agreement that two LLC members now read differently, and a construction contract with a stalled project all fall under the same broad label, yet each turns on its own language and its own history of dealings between the parties. Lauderhill sits in the heart of Broward County, so these disputes are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and some can be heard in federal court in Fort Lauderdale when the parties and the claims qualify.

What separates a contract dispute from a general business quarrel is that the written agreement, the conduct of both sides, and the remedy the court can actually order all have to line up. Winning on the facts is not enough if the claim was filed too late, in the wrong court, or seeking a remedy the contract does not support.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Lauderhill, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests in South Florida. Schwartz’s practice throughout a career in litigation spanning 37 years. Those cases often turn on the precise wording of an agreement and the history of the parties’ dealings, and the firm prepares each one with that level of detail in mind.

Andrew M. Schwartz, Founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has practiced litigation in Florida since. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. He is joined by Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That pairing matters in contract work, because a dispute that begins in Broward circuit court can move to federal court, and the same people stay on the file.

The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone handling a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and conference calls are scheduled at times that suit everyone. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

The firm has also tried contract cases to judgment. In a recent 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Compelling a party to actually perform a deal, rather than just pay damages for walking away, is one of the harder remedies to win, and it depends on thorough trial preparation and a record built from the first day of the case.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle for Lauderhill Clients

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Disputes over the sale of a business or a parcel of real estate, including failed closings, undisclosed problems found after signing, and a buyer or seller who refuses to perform. Some of these cases call for specific performance rather than money.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Conflicts between LLC members or shareholders over buyout terms, distributions, management authority, and breaches of the governing document. These are the contracts that sit underneath most business divorces.
• Commercial Leases: Claims between landlords and business tenants over rent, defaults, build-out obligations, personal guaranties, and early termination, common among the retail and service businesses along Lauderhill’s commercial corridors.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Disputes over promissory notes, personal guaranties, default and acceleration clauses, and private lending between investors or family members.
• Construction and Contractor Agreements: Unpaid draws, defective work, abandoned projects, and change-order fights between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors.
• Unpaid Distributions and Diverted Funds: Contract claims that grow out of money problems, such as a partner who cannot account for company funds, disputed capital contributions, or commingled accounts, often paired with claims for an accounting or breach of fiduciary duty.
• Family and Close-Held Business Contracts: Agreements among siblings, parents and children, spouses, or longtime friends who run a company together, where the paperwork may be thin and the relationships complicate every decision.
• Emergency Enforcement: Situations where waiting for a final judgment would cause real harm, such as a former partner moving assets or violating a non-compete, and a temporary or permanent injunction is needed to preserve the status quo.

The Deadlines That Control a Florida Contract Claim

Florida sets different limitation periods for different kinds of claims, and choosing the right one at the start prevents the most avoidable losses. A lawsuit founded on a written contract must be brought within five years. A claim on an oral or implied agreement gets four years. An action to rescind a contract also has four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. An action on a judgment of a Florida court of record has twenty years. These periods were not changed by the 2023 legislation that shortened the negligence deadline to two years, so a contract claim is not governed by that shorter clock, although a professional malpractice claim, even one framed in contract, carries a two-year period running from when it was or should have been discovered.

The shortest deadline in this family deserves special attention. An action for specific performance carries a one-year period. A buyer or seller who wants a court to force completion of a real estate or business deal cannot treat the five-year written-contract period as a comfortable cushion, because the remedy they want may be time-barred long before that. Many clients assume that because the contract is in writing they have five years for everything, and that assumption is how specific performance claims get lost.

What to Do If a Contract Has Been Breached

Start by gathering the document that governs the relationship and everything that changed it: the signed agreement, amendments, side letters, emails and text messages that discuss performance, invoices, payment records, and any notice of default you sent or received. Many Florida contracts require written notice and an opportunity to cure before a party can sue or terminate, and skipping a required step can hand the other side an easy defense. Read the dispute resolution language before doing anything else, since a clause requiring mediation or arbitration changes where and how the case proceeds, and a clause awarding attorney’s fees to the prevailing party changes the financial risk for both sides.

Avoid the instinct to respond in anger or to stop performing your own obligations without advice. A party who stops paying or delivering can turn a clean claim into a mutual breach. Preserve evidence, including messages on personal phones and accounts, and do not delete anything. If money is leaving the company or property is about to be transferred, say so immediately, because emergency injunctive relief depends on acting quickly and showing a real threat.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount at stake and the parties. Claims above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, and for Lauderhill that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, with civil matters heard at the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and at regional courthouses in the county. The Seventeenth Circuit also operates complex business divisions that handle large business and construction litigation and certain entity dissolutions, and a qualifying case can be filed directly into one of them. Where the parties are from different states and the claims qualify, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale, and it also holds court in West Palm Beach for Palm Beach County cases.

Many contract disputes settle before trial, and mediation is often required or encouraged by the court. Going into that process with a clear view of the damages, the strength of the documents, and the realistic alternatives is what turns a negotiation into a good outcome rather than a rushed one.

Contract Claims That Overlap With Business Divorce and Real Estate

Some of the hardest contract cases are those where the agreement is only the first layer. When co-owners of an LLC cannot agree, the operating agreement may contain a buyout or deadlock sale provision, and Florida’s LLC statute separately allows a court to order dissolution when owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury threatens the company, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when it is no longer reasonably practicable to operate under the agreement. A court may also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. Corporate shareholders have comparable remedies, including a court-supervised buyout at fair value that other shareholders can elect to avoid dissolution. A well-drafted deadlock sale provision, if triggered before the court finds grounds, can take priority over a judicial dissolution order, which is why reading the contract carefully comes first.

Real estate adds its own overlays. A purchase contract dispute can lead to a specific performance claim, a quiet title action to clear competing ownership claims, or a partition action when co-owners cannot agree to hold or sell. Florida courts handle partition in equity, and if dividing the land fairly is not practical, the court can order a sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Inherited property held among relatives can fall under Florida’s heirs property rules, which add protections before a forced sale. Landlord and tenant disputes carry their own notice rules, such as a three-day written demand for unpaid rent, excluding weekends and court holidays, before a landlord may terminate for nonpayment. Recognizing which of these tracks your contract dispute touches affects strategy from the first letter sent.

Common Questions About Contract Litigation in Lauderhill

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

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. An oral or implied contract claim has four years. The clock generally starts when the breach occurs, so the date of the missed payment or failed performance matters.

Is there a shorter deadline for specific performance?

Yes. An action for specific performance must be brought within one year, which is far shorter than the written-contract period. If you want a court to compel completion of a deal, you should speak with an attorney quickly.

Do I have to have a written contract to sue?

No. Florida recognizes oral and implied agreements, but they are harder to prove and have the shorter four-year limitation period. Emails, text messages, invoices, and payment history often supply the proof when no signed document exists.

What damages can I recover in a contract case?

Typically the money the breach cost you, such as lost profits, unpaid sums, or the cost of replacing performance, along with interest. Some contracts also award attorney’s fees to the winning side, which can raise the stakes in both directions. In suitable cases a court can order a party to perform or can issue an injunction instead of or alongside money.

Does my contract’s arbitration clause mean I cannot go to court?

Often it does. A valid arbitration clause can require the dispute to be resolved privately rather than in court. The scope of the clause, who it binds, and whether it was properly triggered are frequently contested, so the wording deserves a close read before you file anything.

Can I get a court order to stop a partner from moving company money while the case is pending?

Possibly. A court can issue temporary injunctive relief to preserve assets during a dispute, particularly where there is evidence that funds are being diverted or spent. These requests move quickly and depend on documentation of the threat.

What if the other side’s breach was minor or I also fell short on my obligations?

Your own performance matters. A prior material breach by you can limit or defeat a claim, and a minor breach by the other side may not justify walking away from the contract. An honest review of both sides’ conduct early on prevents expensive surprises.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a contract dispute that is not huge?

It can be, especially if the contract has a fee-shifting clause or a deadline is approaching. Disputes above the small claims limit can still be heard in county court rather than circuit court. A short consultation often clarifies whether the cost of pursuing a claim makes sense against what can realistically be recovered.

My contract partner lives in New York or New Jersey. Can I still sue in Broward County?

Often yes, depending on the contract’s venue clause, where performance occurred, and where the business operates. Out of state parties are common in South Florida business disputes, and the choice between state court and federal court can turn on citizenship and the amount at stake.

How long does a contract case take to resolve?

It varies widely. Some resolve in mediation within months, while contested cases that go through discovery and a trial take considerably longer. Court assignments, complexity, and whether the case goes to arbitration all influence the timeline, and a good attorney will give you a realistic range after reviewing the documents.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across Lauderhill and Broward County

The firm represents clients from every part of Lauderhill, including the neighborhoods along University Drive, Oakland Park Boulevard, and Commercial Boulevard, as well as the residential communities and business districts that fill the city. We regularly work with owners and investors in neighboring Lauderdale Lakes, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Margate, Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Oakland Park, and Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Broward County in Coral Springs, Davie, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, Parkland, Weston, Pembroke Pines, and Miramar.

Many business relationships cross county lines, so the firm also serves clients in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, and Palm Beach Gardens. Clients who live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut but own a business, investment property, or share of real estate in South Florida rely on the firm to handle court appearances locally while keeping them informed throughout the case.

Speak With a Lauderhill Contract Litigation Lawyer

When an agreement has been broken, the first decisions, which court, which claims, and how quickly, shape everything that follows. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of contract litigation experience to businesses, investors, and families in Lauderhill and across South Florida. Call to discuss your situation with a Lauderhill contract litigation lawyer who will review your agreement and the facts, explain the deadlines that apply, and recommend the path that fits your goals and budget.