Lighthouse Point Breach of Contract Attorney

Most contract fights involving Lighthouse Point owners and investors end up in Broward County, where the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit hears them and where the size of the claim decides which court takes the case. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for clients in Lighthouse Point and across Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and a Lighthouse Point breach of contract attorney from the firm can tell you early whether your dispute belongs in county civil court or circuit court, whether the deadline to sue is running, and whether the other side’s conduct calls for an emergency order.

Contract disputes in this part of South Florida tend to involve real money and real property: a purchase and sale agreement that collapsed before closing, a commercial lease with a personal guaranty, a loan document that was modified by handshake, a construction contract with a stalled project, or an operating agreement that one member decided to ignore. These cases often turn on the exact words of the agreement and on how the parties actually behaved while performing it, so the paper trail matters from the first day.

A breach claim can also be only the visible layer of a larger problem. When the other party is a business partner, a co-member in an LLC, or a family member who co-owns a company, the contract breach may sit beside claims for diverted funds, breach of fiduciary duty, or a demand for dissolution. Sorting out which claims you have, and in what order to bring them, is where good litigation judgment makes a difference.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Lighthouse Point, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The firm represents business owners, investors, and families in contract disputes, partnership and member conflicts, partition actions, title disputes, and emergency injunction matters. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of founder Andrew M. Schwartz’s practice for his entire career. He has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami.

Andrew 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 matters in contract work, because some disputes belong in the Seventeenth Circuit and others end up in federal court. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when someone is in court and cannot pick up right away.

The firm’s work includes results at trial. After a five-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. Specific performance, an order compelling the other side to actually carry out the deal, is one of the harder remedies to win, and it reflects the kind of detailed trial preparation the firm brings to contract cases. The attorneys are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and the firm looks for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Types of Contract Disputes Our Firm Handles

• Real Estate Purchase and Sale Contracts: Failed closings, disputes over deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and buyers or sellers who refuse to perform. These cases may call for damages, or for specific performance when the property itself is what matters.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Claims that a member or shareholder violated buyout terms, transfer restrictions, voting provisions, or distribution rules, often combined with fiduciary duty claims.
• Commercial Leases: Disputes over rent, build-out obligations, guaranties, operating covenants, and early termination between landlords and business tenants in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Defaults, disputed payoff amounts, unwritten modifications, and conflicts between lenders, private investors, and borrowers over what the documents actually require.
• Construction Contracts: Stalled or defective work, unpaid draws, change-order disputes, and disagreements over who is responsible for delay on residential and commercial projects.
• Business Sale and Purchase Agreements: Claims that a seller misrepresented the company, that earn-out or payment terms were not honored, or that a buyer failed to complete the transaction.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Contract claims tied to money owed to an owner or investor, including diverted company funds, disputed capital contributions, and commingled accounts.
• Family and Partner Business Agreements: Contracts among siblings, spouses, in-laws, or longtime friends who own a company together, where discretion matters as much as the legal claim.

What to Do When the Other Side Breaks the Agreement

Start by pulling together everything that defines the deal: the signed agreement, every amendment, the emails and texts that show how the parties actually dealt with each other, invoices, payment records, and any notices already sent. Do not rely on memory for what was promised. Many Florida contracts require written notice of default and a cure period before a lawsuit can be filed, and a notice sent the wrong way, or to the wrong address, can hand the other side an argument. Read the notice and dispute-resolution clauses before you send anything, and be careful about what you say in writing to the other party, since those messages will become exhibits.

Watch the deadline. For a claim based on a written contract, Florida generally allows five years to file. A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years, and an action to rescind a contract also has four. Specific performance is the one that surprises people, because that action carries a one-year period. If your goal is to force a closing rather than collect money, waiting even a few months can limit your options. Professional malpractice claims, whether framed in contract or tort, run on a two-year clock from discovery, so if the breach involves a professional’s work, do not assume the longer contract period applies.

Where the case is filed depends largely on the amount at stake. Claims above the county court limit go to circuit court, which in Broward County is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with courthouses in Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. Smaller claims belong in county civil court, and the smallest fall under small claims. Larger business disputes, including certain business entity dissolutions and big commercial cases, may be directed to the Seventeenth Circuit’s complex business division, which a filer can request at the time of filing. If the owners or property sit in Palm Beach County, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit hears the case instead, and diversity or federal-law claims can land in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

If the other side is moving money, selling property, or otherwise making your remedy meaningless, do not wait for a final judgment. Courts can issue temporary and permanent injunctions to preserve assets and protect business interests while the case is pending, and the firm regularly seeks emergency relief in these situations. The most common mistakes are waiting past a deadline, making an informal deal on the phone that contradicts the written agreement, and stopping performance yourself without confirming that you are not about to commit a breach of your own.

Remedies, Defenses, and How Contract Cases Are Won

The usual remedy is money damages that put the injured party where full performance would have left them. Some contracts add liquidated damages, attorney fee provisions, or interest terms that change the economics of the case, so the remedy clauses deserve the same attention as the promise that was broken. When money cannot make you whole, as with a unique piece of real estate or a business interest, a court sitting in equity may order specific performance, and the bench trial victory described above is an example of that remedy being granted on a commercial property contract.

Defenses are where many cases are decided. Expect arguments that the other side was excused by your own prior breach, that a condition to performance never occurred, that the agreement was ambiguous or modified, that you failed to mitigate your losses, or that the claim is time-barred. A written contract does not end the inquiry, because the history of the parties’ dealings can show waiver or a changed understanding. This is why the firm prepares these cases around the precise wording of the agreement and the evidence of how it was performed.

Not every dispute needs a courtroom. Many agreements require mediation or arbitration, and even where they do not, a well-timed demand letter or mediation can resolve a case at a fraction of the cost. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in both, and they will tell you candidly when settlement serves you better than a trial and when it does not.

Contract Breach Questions Lighthouse Point Clients Ask

What counts as a breach of contract in Florida?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform a duty the agreement requires without a legal excuse. To recover, you generally show a valid contract, a material breach by the other side, and damages caused by that breach. Minor deviations may support a claim but not necessarily an exit from the deal.

How long do I have to file a breach of contract lawsuit?

For a contract founded on a written instrument, Florida generally allows five years. An oral or implied contract has four years. Because the periods differ by claim type, confirm which one applies before assuming you have time.

Is the deadline shorter if I want the court to force the other side to complete the deal?

Yes. An action for specific performance carries a one-year period, which is much shorter than the damages deadline. If you want the deal completed rather than just compensation, act quickly.

Which court will hear my case?

It depends on the amount in controversy and where the parties and property are. Broward matters go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit and Palm Beach matters to the Fifteenth. County civil court handles mid-sized claims, circuit court handles larger ones, and small claims covers the lowest tier. Some cases belong in federal court.

Do I need a written contract to sue?

No. Florida recognizes oral and implied contracts, although they are harder to prove and have a four-year filing period. Texts, emails, payment history, and witnesses often supply the proof.

Can I sue if my business partner violated our operating agreement?

Often yes. A violation of an operating or shareholder agreement can support a contract claim, and it frequently comes with claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, or dissolution. The remedy depends on what the agreement says and what the partner did.

What if the other side is hiding or spending money while we litigate?

You can ask the court for emergency injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or dissipated. Courts weigh these requests quickly, so prompt evidence of what is happening is important.

Can I recover attorney fees from the other side?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause, and that clause can cut both ways, so review it before deciding to sue or to defend.

My contract requires arbitration. Does that change anything?

It changes the forum, not the merits. The dispute goes to an arbitrator instead of a judge, with different procedures and limited appeal rights. The firm’s attorneys have experience in arbitration as well as courtroom litigation.

I live in New York or New Jersey but the contract involves South Florida property or a South Florida business. Can you handle it?

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

Is a breach of contract case worth pursuing if the amount is modest?

Sometimes the better course is a demand letter, mediation, or county court filing rather than a full circuit court case. The right answer depends on the amount, the strength of the documents, and whether a fee provision exists. A short consultation can help you weigh cost against recovery.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

Our work starts with Lighthouse Point and extends through Broward County, from Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, and Sea Ranch Lakes to Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, and Fort Lauderdale. We also represent clients in Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Sunrise, Plantation, Davie, and Hollywood, where commercial leases, development projects, and closely held companies generate regular contract disputes.

To the north, the firm serves Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach, as well as Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. Whether your agreement was signed in Broward or Palm Beach County, or by owners who live in the tri-state area but hold property here, the firm can bring the case in the right court and see it through.

Speak With a Lighthouse Point Breach of Contract Lawyer About Your Case

If someone has broken an agreement that your business, investment, or property depends on, a Lighthouse Point breach of contract lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, tell you which deadlines apply, and explain whether negotiation, mediation, or litigation is the better route. Call to schedule a consultation and bring the signed agreement and any correspondence with the other side.