Miramar Business Attorney

A Miramar company owner whose co-owner has stopped answering emails, or whose partner has started moving money between accounts, usually has less time than it feels like. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business transactions and litigation, partnership disputes, real estate litigation, injunctions, and outside general counsel work for owners and investors in Miramar, Broward County, and the rest of South Florida. If you are looking for a Miramar business attorney, the right lawyer depends on whether you need to prevent a dispute, win one, or leave a business on fair terms.

Business disputes in Miramar tend to follow a few patterns: two or three owners of an LLC who can no longer agree, a family company where the next generation wants something different, a commercial lease or purchase contract that went sideways, or a manager who cannot account for where the company’s cash went. Each calls for a different remedy, a different court track, and a different deadline. Getting the sequence right at the start often decides how the case ends.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Miramar Business Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business litigation and real estate firm serving Miramar, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and clients throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has built his practice around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. 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 practices as a true legal team: everyone working on a matter knows the file, and there is a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court. The firm is experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and it looks for the outcome that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out. Many of its clients live in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and own businesses or property in South Florida, and the firm handles the local court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing. A meaningful share of its work also comes from referrals by other attorneys.

Trial experience matters when a dispute does not settle. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm obtained a 32-page final judgment granting its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of outcome that depends on careful preparation around contract language and the history between the parties.

Business Matters a Miramar Business Lawyer Handles

• Business Divorce: Co-owners who cannot agree on direction, pay, or control may negotiate a buyout, sell the company, wind it down, or seek court-ordered dissolution. The route usually turns on the operating or shareholder agreement and on how much the business is worth.
• LLC Member and Shareholder Disputes: Claims include breach of the operating or shareholder agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, exclusion from management or information, and minority owners who feel squeezed out.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts. These cases often turn on exact wording and the parties’ course of dealing.
• Missing Funds and Money Disputes: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, commingled accounts, and disputed capital contributions, often pursued through an accounting claim and recovery of the funds.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions to stop assets from being moved or spent, or to protect property, while the dispute is pending.
• Partition and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate who cannot agree, including former business partners, heirs, and investors, plus quiet title actions to clear competing ownership claims.
• Family Business Conflicts: Siblings, parents and children, spouses, or in-laws who share ownership and disagree about control, compensation, and succession.
• Outside General Counsel: Ongoing contract, compliance, and operational advice, with the firm serving as registered agent, so problems are caught before they become lawsuits.

What to Do Now if a Business Relationship in Miramar Is Breaking Down

Start by getting the documents in one place: the articles of organization or incorporation, the operating or shareholder agreement, any amendments, tax returns, bank statements, and the contracts at the center of the fight. The agreement matters more than most owners expect. Some contain a deadlock sale provision, and under Florida’s LLC statute a deadlock sale provision that has been initiated before a court finds that deadlock grounds exist can take the place of judicial dissolution. Others set buyout formulas, notice requirements, or arbitration clauses that shape where and how the dispute is heard. Read what you signed before you send an angry email, because what you say in writing can be used against you.

Preserve evidence and avoid self-help. Do not delete messages, lock a partner out of accounts, or move company money without advice, since any of these can create claims against you. If money is leaving the company, speed matters: a court can be asked for emergency injunctive relief, and in an LLC dissolution case a judge may appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing. For corporations, a judge handling a shareholder’s dissolution petition can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver, and take other steps to preserve assets while the case is pending.

Know your deadlines. A claim on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while oral or implied contract claims have four. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. A suit seeking specific performance carries a one-year period, which surprises many people. Professional malpractice claims, such as against an accountant or other professional adviser, run two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Because these clocks differ, waiting to see if things improve can cost you a claim.

On where a case is filed: Miramar is in Broward County, which sits in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and disputes above the county court ceiling are heard in circuit court, with county court handling smaller claims and small claims capped well below that. The Seventeenth Circuit also has a complex business division that handles dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction litigation, and cases can be directed there only through the procedure set out in the circuit’s administrative order, which includes a specific form filed with the Clerk. Broward civil matters are heard at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and at regional courthouses, including the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood and the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation. Cases with federal jurisdiction go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, among other places.

Judicial Dissolution and Buyouts: How Florida Law Frames a Business Exit

When co-owners cannot resolve a dispute privately, Florida law gives members and shareholders a court-supervised exit. For an LLC, a member or manager may seek dissolution on grounds that include: the company’s affairs are being conducted unlawfully; it is not reasonably practicable to run the business under the articles and operating agreement; controlling members or managers have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently; assets are being misappropriated or wasted, causing injury; or the owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. Dissolution is not the only outcome. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court can instead appoint a receiver or custodian, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

For corporations, a shareholder can petition for dissolution on listed grounds, including that the corporation has abandoned its business and failed within a reasonable time to liquidate and dissolve. The statute also builds in a buyout off-ramp. Once a shareholder files on the oppression-type grounds, the corporation, or if it does not act, one or more shareholders, may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms. The election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it, and the corporation must notify the other shareholders within 30 days after the proceeding begins so they know they can avoid dissolution by buying. Filing for dissolution does not erase a shareholder’s right to use a compliant deadlock sale provision in a shareholder agreement.

In practice, valuation is where these cases get fought. The question is rarely whether someone can leave but what the interest is worth, who gets to decide, and on what evidence. Preparing that valuation record early is often the difference between a negotiated buyout and a long trial.

Co-Owned Real Estate, Partition, and Quiet Title

Business disputes often spill into real estate. Florida partition actions are brought in chancery under Chapter 64, and the complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the property can be divided fairly, the court appoints three commissioners to do so. If division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds by ownership share; a sale on credit requires good cause and at least one-third of the price paid down unless all parties agree otherwise. Property inherited by relatives as tenants in common may fall under the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which changes the process and generally favors partition in kind unless the court finds that would prejudice the owners as a group.

Quiet title is the companion remedy when ownership itself is clouded. A plaintiff can ask the court to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner, and the case may be filed in any county where part of the land lies. The plaintiff must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. These suits matter to investors who need to separate from a property, or to owners facing a competing claim that blocks a sale or refinancing.

Common Questions About Hiring a Miramar Business Lawyer

When should a Miramar business owner call a business attorney?

Ideally before a dispute hardens. A lawyer can review an operating agreement before you sign, advise on a buyout offer, or send a demand letter before positions harden. Once money is missing or a partner has locked you out, call right away, because emergency relief depends on acting quickly.

What is the difference between a business attorney and a business litigation attorney?

A transactional attorney drafts and negotiates agreements, forms entities, and advises on compliance. A litigator handles disputes in court, mediation, and arbitration. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team does both, which helps because the person who understands how agreements fail in court is well placed to help draft or review them.

Can I force a business partner out of an LLC in Florida?

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law offers court remedies for serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. An attorney needs to read the agreement first.

What can I do if my partner is taking company money?

Possible claims include 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, and in a dissolution case a receiver or custodian may be appointed after a hearing.

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

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument and four years for oral or implied contracts. Fraud is four years from discovery with a 12-year cap, and specific performance actions have a one-year period. Recent changes to Florida’s negligence deadline did not alter the written-contract period.

Does a business dispute have to end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and some agreements require arbitration. The firm has experience in all of these as well as trial work, and chooses the route most likely to meet the client’s goals efficiently.

What happens if my operating agreement is silent on how to resolve a deadlock?

Then the statutory remedies fill the gap. For an LLC, deadlock that threatens irreparable injury is a ground for judicial dissolution, and the court may appoint a receiver or custodian or order a buyout instead. Silence in the agreement usually means more reliance on the court and more cost, which is one reason to address deadlock in writing early.

Is a Broward County business case heard in county court or circuit court?

It turns on the amount at stake. Claims above the county court ceiling go to circuit court, and county court handles the middle range, with small claims below that. Requests for injunctions and dissolution of business entities are equitable matters generally brought in circuit court.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a business partner relationship in Miramar. Can you handle it?

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 are not traveling for every hearing.

Can a lawyer help with a family business dispute without destroying the relationship?

Often, yes. Family disputes call for discretion and a focus on realistic outcomes such as a structured buyout, new governance terms, or a negotiated exit. The firm handles these cases with discretion while still protecting the client’s financial interests at each step.

Do you work with other attorneys on referrals?

Yes. Referrals from other lawyers, including out-of-state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes, are a significant part of the practice, and the firm communicates with referring counsel throughout the matter.

Is outside general counsel worth it for a small company?

For many owners it is more practical than an in-house hire. The firm’s general counsel program covers contract, compliance, and operational questions and includes serving as registered agent, which gives the company a lawyer who already knows its documents when a problem appears.

Serving Miramar and Neighboring South Florida Business Owners

The firm represents business owners and investors in Miramar and across Broward County, including Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Pembroke Park, West Park, Davie, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, Weston, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Oakland Park, and Fort Lauderdale. The firm also serves clients throughout Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Delray Beach, and clients in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Whether the dispute involves a Miramar commercial lease, a company with partners in more than one county, or property held jointly with relatives, the team takes the matter wherever the proper court sits.

Speak With a Miramar Business Law Attorney Before the Dispute Escalates

If you need a Miramar business law attorney to review an agreement, respond to a partner’s demand, or pursue recovery of company funds, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can evaluate where you stand and lay out your options, from negotiation to emergency relief to trial. Call to schedule a consultation and bring your governing documents and the key contracts so the conversation can start with specifics.